March

Katniss snuggled underneath the covers, wrapping the comforter around herself as she listened to Gale turn off his alarm, get out of bed, and stumble to the bathroom half-awake. He had to be at his office at 8am whereas the store didn't open until a couple hours later. Moments after hearing the shower start she nodded off again, not reawaking until Gale kissed her goodbye. She could smell the cup of coffee he put on the bedside table for her.

She sat up and reached for the cup as he told her, "I probably won't be home until after seven tonight. We have a big meeting today about a new project. Don't wait for dinner unless you want to."

Katniss nodded as she blinked the sleep from her eyes and took a sip. "Have a good day, honey," she called as he walked out of the room.

When she heard the bedroom door shut, she scrambled out of the bed and ran to the window. She watched him walk down the street to his car. Once she saw him drive off, she scurried into the living room and opened up her laptop, logging into Tumblr.

Katniss felt a little rush when she saw that she had a new message in her inbox. She clicked and saw that it was from her beta.

Check your e-mail inbox. You'll find your corrected chapter. Your characterization of Zoe and Wash are spot on, so stop worrying about that. I really like where you are taking the story. There are a few places where I was a little confused as to the order of events. I indicated that in the document.

Now that fic business is out of the way, how are you doing this morning? And it is morning – as I write this at 2am. I can't sleep – again. I know you understand how that is sometimes. I'm sitting here right now typing away as my cat, Biscuit, kneads into my lap. He's actually pretty persnickety. Sometimes he loves me; other times he forgets that I exist unless the food dish is empty. Then he lets me know that I'm torturing him through starvation. Biscuit is 18lbs; he's not starving. For some reason at this time of night, it is always true love, especially if I'm trying to type.

I understand what you mean about loving the first signs of spring. I'll never look at a dandelion quite the same way after you described it as being a sign of hope and better times to come. One of my favorite days of the year is that first 60-degree day. A day where you can remove your jacket for the first time and feel the warmth of the sun without the biting winter wind.

Anyway, I should try to get some sleep. Let me know if you have any questions about my comments in the document.

-Serene-Pilot

Katniss had stumbled upon the world of fanfiction after she had Googled Firefly three months ago. She read story after story. It also led her to Tumblr where she started following authors who published works that she enjoyed. It didn't take long for her to start thinking up stories of her own. At the encouragement of a fellow fan she had met on Tumblr, Serene-Pilot, she finally put pen to paper—or to be more accurate, fingers to keyboard.

When she started writing, Serene-Pilot became her beta. The proofreader not only fixed her silly mistakes, but also gave her feedback on the content she was writing. Over the past month, they had formed a solid friendship where they talked about not only her writing and the fandom, but also shared observations from their lives. However, they were careful not to share anything too personal that would allow them to be identified. She was thoroughly enjoying her correspondence. She appreciated his sense of humor and he had a way with words that was making her a better writer.

She hit reply on the message.

Thank you so much for getting that chapter back to me so quickly. If I have questions, I'll let you know.

So you have a cat. He sounds a bit like the cat my sister, Primrose, had as a girl. His name was Buttercup and he was the ugliest, meanest cat you have ever met. He hated me, except when I fed him, but he loved my sister. He followed her everywhere.

You know what occurred to me today? I hate using terms of endearment. I'd rather just call someone by his or her name. Nevertheless, I find myself calling my boyfriend, "Honey," all the time. It started as a joke when we got together, but now it's just habit. Of course, he's always called me by a nickname I detest and he knows it, but he's called me that since we were 13.

Well I should probably get ready to head to my little store. I hope you caught a few winks last night.

-Warrior-Woman

Katniss looked at the clock and realized that if she didn't get a move on she'd be late opening. She hurried into the bathroom and twisted her hair on top of her head, thankful she'd washed it the day before as she jumped into the shower. After her shower, she applied a little beauty balm to her face, some mascara, and a sweep of lip balm. She pulled the rubber band out of her messy bun and brushed her hair out before braiding it into a Dutch-side braid.

Katniss walked out of the bathroom and stepped into her closet. She chose a pair of jeans and a heather grey Henley style shirt. She slipped on her socks and boots and donned her padded vest, knowing it would probably be too warm by next week to wear it again until next fall. Noticing the lateness of the time, she decided to eat breakfast once she got to the store and rushed out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, she arrived at Everdeen's Apothecary and Natural Foods just in time to let Sae, the cook in the store's little café, into the building. Her parents had started the business as a simple pharmacy and apothecary shop before she was born. They not only offered prescription drugs but also concocted non-traditional treatments such as natural-herbal supplements that helped fight nausea for pregnant women, or tinctures that helped clear the sinuses during ragweed season.

When the store first opened, her parents rented the space, but when the building went up for sale, they purchased it and expanded to add a natural foods grocery where people could buy local and organic foods. Six-months after she graduated college, Katniss took over the management of the store. Not by choice, but rather after her family passed away in a tragic car crash. A couple years later, the owners of the little café that rented space at the north end of the building retired, so she knocked down the wall and added the café to the business. They offered a variety of vegetarian, vegan, and organic meat dishes.

Katniss struggled to find the right key and dropped her set on the ground.

"Running late again, Girly?" Sae teased.

Katniss shook her head as she finally unlocked the door and held it open for Sae to walk through.

"You need to allow yourself more time in the morning," the grey-haired woman advised. "Did you take time for breakfast? It's the most important meal of the day."

Sae loved to mother hen her. "No. Just coffee."

"Well, I'll put some oatmeal on." Sae walked off in the direction of the kitchen.

Katniss heard the jingle of the bell on the front door as Beetee, her pharmacist and apothecary, entered and was quickly followed by Annie who worked as a waitress and store cashier. "Good morning, Katniss!" they called. They were right on time. She then recalled that their other waitress/cashier, Johanna, was coming in a bit later today.

Katniss wondered if her Uncle Haymitch would show. He wasn't really her uncle; it was more an honorary title as he had been her father's best friend. He came in a couple days a week to help out, mostly with her books or to give her unsolicited advice.

She heard the little cuckoo clock behind the counter chirp repeatedly indicating it was now ten, so she walked to the door and flipped the sign from "Closed" to "Open".

A few hours later, Johanna came rushing into the store swearing. "Did you see that sign across the street? Fucking corporate! Right in our back yard too!"

Katniss rolled her eyes, grateful the lunch rush had passed. Not that their regulars would be shocked. People here were used to the woman's frank language. Everything about Johanna was a little jarring at first, from her short spikey hair to her full sleeve tattoos, but it didn't take long for those who talked to her to realize it was largely a front to keep people back. She was a great waitress and many requested her section.

"What are you rambling about?" Katniss asked as she arranged a new shipment of herbal teas on the shelf.

"Did you see the fucking billboard across the street?" Johanna responded.

"No."

"Well you've gotta come look."

By now, Annie, Sae, Beetee, and Haymitch—who had decided to come in—had heard, so they all filed out of the store.

Directly across the street in an empty lot that she'd been hoping the city council would convert to a park, was a large billboard announcing, "Mellark's Coming Soon to Panem." Mellark's was a large chain store that sold organic groceries and health foods, offering a full bakery, deli, meat market, and pharmacy. They had one two towns over.

As the group stared at the sign in silence, they saw a truck carrying large machinery arrive. Mellark's was getting ready to break ground.

Katniss turned around and walked back into the store, her employees following closely behind. She marched over to the teas she had been stacking before Johanna had interrupted, and begin rearranging the display. She had suddenly decided that the current organization didn't make sense and could be better.

Annie walked up and helped her by taking and handing her boxes. "I'm sure it's going to be okay, Katniss."

"Annie is right, Katniss," Beetee agreed as he stepped behind his little counter. "We offer personal service that a chain can't."

Everyone provided sounds of agreement with Beetee's sentiment. Katniss turned to her crew, people who were not just employees but also her closest friends, and said with false bravado, "You are all right. We do provide personalized service. We know our customers and many have been coming here for years. They are loyal. I'm not worried and neither should you be."

"Hear, hear, Sweetheart!" Haymitch cheered.

"Okay, everybody. Get back to work!"

Katniss continued to worry about Mellark's for the rest of the day. She couldn't let it go; it had created a bad feeling in her gut. When the workday ended, she went home and decided to put a stew on the stove, which would be ready by the time Gale arrived home. He had said not to hold dinner, but she needed to keep her hands busy. Once the stew was simmering, she decided to take a long shower to try to relax. It helped for a little while, but by the time Gale got in after eight, she had a raging headache.

"There is some stew on the stove if you want it," Katniss offered as she lay on the couch.

"Oh. Well I ate at work. We had a dinner meeting," he answered as he walked toward their bedroom to change out of his suit.

"Oh. Okay. I'll just go put it away." Katniss got up from the couch and walked toward the kitchen.

Gale hollered, "Catnip, that stew does smell good. Can you pack some up for me to take for lunch tomorrow?"

"Sure thing." Katniss carefully spooned the stew into a few lunch containers and placed them in the fridge. She put on a teapot to boil. Once she had prepared her chamomile tea, she walked back to the living room and found Gale reading a book. She sat next to him.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"It was great. I'm excited about my new project. How was yours?" Gale asked without looking up from his book.

Katniss sighed, "Awful," which gained his attention. She rubbed her temples.

"Come here and turn around."

She did as instructed and Gale began kneading her neck. "What happened?"

The whole story of the day poured out of her. She told him about the Mellark's sign and about how hopeful her employees were that it wouldn't affect them but she had her worries.

"Well your friends are right," Gale encouraged as he continued to massage her tension away. "You do have loyal customers. Your business is personalized. Who wants to go to an impersonal chain store? People like tradition. They'd much prefer to go to a store owned by a local family as opposed to a shiny-new superstore. A perfect example of people liking business rooted in tradition is my new project."

Gale worked as an architectural engineer at a firm that redeveloped brownfield properties.

Katniss pulled away from his hands and turned back to face him. She gave him a timid smile. "Thank you. I love you. Now tell me about this new project."

Gale animatedly explained how he was working to redevelop the abandoned textile mill site on the edge of town into mixed-use commercial/residential space while keeping the architectural history of the building. He rambled on and Katniss nodded, spacing out as her worries began to take hold again.

Later that evening, once Gale was asleep, Katniss snuck out of bed. She curled up onto the couch with her laptop and finally let go of her worry as she worked on editing and posting her most recent chapter of her current fanfiction story—a tale the delved into the romance of Zoe and Wash that occurred prior to the start of the series.

Once she had published the chapter, she finished her draft of the next chapter and sent it to Serene-Pilot with an accompanying message.

Hello Serene-Pilot,

Attached is chapter four for your review. I look forward to your thoughts. Things are heating up a bit in this chapter.

I hope you are getting more sleep than I am tonight. My mind won't be still so I decided to work on my story. As you will probably see in your inbox tomorrow morning, I finished editing and published my next chapter.

Working on my fic is definitely better than worrying. Today was rough. It looks like a competitor is coming to town that may hurt my business. I figured there was no better way to take my mind off it than spending the night focusing on the romantic adventures of Zoe and Wash.

Well I should try to get some sleep.

Your friend,

Warrior-Woman

A/N:

Thank you very much to Pookieh for being an amazing beta. She turned around this story so fast and I'm grateful.

If you'd like more information about my fanfiction please visit my tumblr: dispatchesfromdistrict7

The characters are the property of the amazing Suzanne Collins and do not belong to me. I occasionally weave lines from her novels. Those totally belong to Ms. Collins too.

As I mentioned the plot is inspired by the movie You've Got Mail so I credit the creators of that film for the story idea – which I've adapted to modern times and Everlark.