Happy New Year! Hope your 2012 was a good year! And what a better way to send off the New Year with a one shot? There wasn't anything in particular that inspired this one, other than just the whole kinda Christmas spirit. Or holiday spirit. The one that makes everyone crazy happy and nice to one another. So no SoI

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Let it Snow

"Dad! Dad, look!"

I look up at my daughter's cries. She's bouncing at the window, blue eyes wide. Her small hands are latched on to the windowsill, keeping her grounded in her excitement.

"Dad!" She calls again, this time more insistent.

"What is it?"

"Come here!" She orders in a happy whine. I chuckle and wipe my hands clean on my apron. I'm not moving fast enough for her, though, and she runs over to me. She pouts at me briefly before tugging hard at my hand, smile back in place.

"Isn't it pretty?" She asks in wonder, looking back out the window. I lift her up on to my shoulders, laughing at the sight of her awe.

She's right of course. The snow falling, drifting about in the wind, and decorating District 12 all in white makes everything look beautiful. Big fat flakes pile up in the street, and patter against the glass. We stand there for a little, watching the snow flutter about until I catch sight of my watch.

"It's getting late." I say, shrugging my shoulders, bouncing her up and down. She giggles and shrieks in mirth, grabbing on to my ears for balance. "We'd better go if we want to finish before dark."

She nods before pulling on my ears, steering me back to the kitchen. My bakery is filled with small bags of treats neatly tied up with string. The two of us together have been working for days on this project ever since she got the idea. She loves to bake and help me ice cakes, but she loves giving out gifts even more. So now, we have enough for all the children in 12 and their parents to have a sweet treat for the solstice.

She kicks lightly at my shoulders, eager to get to work. Once she's on the ground again she takes off running. Grabbing bags and throwing them on to the sled, she makes her way around the kitchen. I move slower, my leg stiff in the cold, as I recount the bags. Her brother tried to help yesterday, but ended up just with a mouthful of cookies and string tied around his fingers. I wanted to make sure we still had enough after his snack attack.

"Dawn," she looks up at my call. She's ready to go, coat zipped up and fingers tight around the rope to her sled. I smile at her, amazed once again how much she looks like her mom with her jaw set and impatient gaze. I hold up my hand, swinging her hat between my thumb and forefinger.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

She blushes slightly, embarrassed at her haste.

"Thanks, Daddy." She mumbles, tugging her hat down to cover her eyes. When her baby blues reappear, she beams up at me and flings her arms around my middle.

"Now, let's go!" She cheers a moment later, throwing her hands up in the air. I laugh, shaking my head as she rockets out the door, sled trailing behind her. A couple bags of cookies go airborne as she rounds the corner outside the bakery. I call for her to be careful, but she doesn't hear me. She's already halfway down the road, singing a solstice song at the top of her lungs.

It's not until after we've delivered all of the bags that her energy runs out. Collapsed in the empty sled, she cheers for me to go faster as I pull her behind me. We laugh as the snow flies around us, flakes falling and small snowballs thrown back and forth. By the time we reach the old Victor's Village, Dawn is quiet in her fatigue, happily staring up into the dark sky and watching the snow fall.

Katniss is at the door, our son at her side. His cheeks are red and his pant legs and socks are wet. Katniss has to hold him by the shoulders to keep him inside when he sees us. Both our children have seemed to inherit her haste for things to happen. Only problem is he's very forgetful as well.

"Dad!" He calls from the front step. "Daddy, it's snowing!"

"We know, Thatch!" Dawn answers in my place. I look over my shoulder at her and recognize the exasperated patience that I so often see on her mother's face.

"Dawn," Katniss scolds softly, "be nice to your brother."

"I was being nice." Dawn mumbles under her breath. I chuckle and usher her inside. Thatch chatters happily at us about his day as we take off our boots and warm clothes. Katniss is quiet, shaking her head as our son drags his sister away to show her something. She leans into me, burrowing her face into my sweater.

"I missed you today." I hear her say. My arms pull her closer to me, and she snuggles against my chest. "It's stupid. You were only gone for a couple hours."

"So?" I shrug. "I missed you, too."

She laughs softly before giving me a slow kiss. Her grey eyes shine up at me as we spend a moment in the hall, reveling in our two minutes of solitude. But it's not for long. I feel a gentle pull at my leg and look down at a different pair of grey eyes.

"You wanna see my snowman?" Thatch asks shyly around his thumb.

I smile and bend down to lift him up onto my back. Dawn comes racing up to us, grabbing her mother's hand only to drag her into the kitchen. Thatch wraps his small arms around my neck and I give him a squeeze before joining the rest of my family in our happiness.

Dawn is for the new hope in their life and Thatch is short for Thatcher, which I just liked the sound of.

P.S. Review! Seriously, the box is like, right there...