Author's note: So sorry for such a long time since the last chapter. I now have my fic Worry Is Calling completely written and I'm going to focus on this for a bit. There are three more chapters written and I'm going to try really hard to keep up with it until November. At that time I'm going to be pausing all my fic writing to focus on National Novel Writing Month. I may try to have stuff edited and ready to go to update during the month. We'll see how it goes...

Some Everthorne in this, so just prepare yourselves. There's no way to cut it and it's pretty relevant to the whole story.

Many thanks to my awesome beta Everlylark, who has been so supportive and helpful through this whole thing. Go check out her Tumblr!

And speaking of Tumblr, you can find me over there if you want to talk or see snippets of stuff before it's published here. I'm booksrockmyface over there.

Happy reading!

Chapter Seven

Katniss kept feeling the rope tug all through the meal. Peeta and Gale spent most of the meal in conversation, so she didn't have to do a lot of talking. Katniss was never good at small talk anyway.

It didn't help that looking at Peeta brought flashes of her dreams to mind. Sweaty bodies sliding together. Heat from within and without. Voices raised in ecstasy.

"Katniss?" Gale's voice broke through and she felt her face warming up.

She blinked a few times. "What?"

Gale chuckled. "You were thousands of miles away."

"Just daydreaming." Katniss glanced toward Peeta and she could see he knew what she was thinking. "Sorry. What were we talking about?"

Katniss wasn't sure how she made it through the last half hour of Peeta's presence, but she did. The line in her chest snapped with the closing of Peeta's car door. She felt drained. Trying not to be distracted by the arousing memories from her dreams was work in itself. How would she ever manage this? How did anyone?

Katniss sat up, panting heavily. Images of Peeta lying naked beneath her still filled her vision. No, not Peeta. Radames, her mind whispered.

She felt sweat soaking through her clothes. A glance at the alarm clock made her sigh. It would go off in ten minutes, no time to even settle back in.

And she didn't want to.

She left the alarm for Gale, sparing only a glance at his prone form in the bed with Becca curled into his side before she gathered her things and headed for the bathroom. She had to relieve the pressure that had been building from the moment Peeta walked in their door the evening before.

She stepped under the spray and leaned her hand on the wall, her legs spread, her other hand making its way to her clit. It was swollen and she was sure it wouldn't take long for her to come.

"Katniss?" Gale said softly.

She paused, turned her head slowly, and saw her husband standing outside the tub. He was naked, sleep still in his eyes, but there was also a bit of hunger around the edges.

"Can I help with that?" He asked as he stepped into the shower, pulling the curtain back in place. Not waiting for her answer, he stepped behind her and he slid his hand along her arm until it rested over the one she braced on the wall. He tangled their fingers together.

"You don't have to." But it would be nice to have some help. After a slight hesitation, she leaned her head back on his shoulder and tangled her fingers in his hair. He started to stroke her aching flesh and she moaned. "Right there."

He rubbed more earnestly, kissing her shoulders. Both made hardly any noise.

Katniss met her climax with a soft, "Oh." She clung to Gale as her body rocked against his hand. When she finally came back down, she pulled his arms around her. She was suddenly filled with an overwhelming array of emotions and she dropped her head to her chest as she sobbed.

"Katniss, are you okay?" He asked as he held her.

"I think so." She let go of his arms when she noticed the pressure of his erection pressing against her back. That was the last thing she needed. She could still feel the tears on her face as she reached for the shampoo, but they were thankfully washed away by the water flowing from the showerhead.

"Is there something going on?" He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Something bothering you?"

"I'm fine, Gale." She snapped, stepping away from him and keeping her eyes anywhere but his obvious arousal.

They bathed in silence. Katniss got out before Gale and began drying off. Her thoughts still ran through the dream she'd woken from.

He exited the shower and took another towel out of the cabinet. "So dad wants to go hunting this weekend. Want to come?"

"Gun season just started. I don't think I'll be able to get anything with my bow." She started drying her hair with the towel. "You should spend time with your dad anyway, just the two of you."

He nodded. "Okay." He wrapped the towel around his waist. "You think Sam will want to come?"

Katniss smiled and nodded. "She might."

"Becs can come next time." Gale leaned in and tried to kiss her, but she quickly moved away. "Katniss, what's going on with you?"

"Nothing. Just not in the mood for a kiss right now." Moving to the sink, she reached for her toothbrush and toothpaste.

Gale shook his head and stepped beside Katniss.

They finished getting ready, moving around so automatically it could have been choreographed. Katniss was distracted by her thoughts of her dream. She wanted to tell Gale about it, but she didn't at the same time. How would she even bring that up? Tell Gale that the only reason she wanted sex with him was because she was dreaming about having sex with someone else in a past life? The thought was absurd.

Their morning routine was hectic. To say the least.

It was Katniss's turn to make breakfast. She was going to make scrambled eggs, but there were only three eggs left. Gale and Becca could down three each. She groaned.

"Cereal." Gale suggested, pulling bowls and boxes out of the cabinets. He passed them around and they girls started filling their bowls.

As she was pouring the milk, Becca spilled cereal on her lap.

Katniss sighed. "Go on and change, baby. But hurry. We don't have time to dawdle. I'll have this ready for you."

Katniss looked over to see Sam scramble to get her homework finished. "Sam-Sam, what are you doing?"

"Math homework." She explained. "It's due first thing."

"You should have done that last night." Gale said.

Sam groaned. "I know, Dad. But I had a headache last night."

Katniss quickly pressed a hand to Sam's forehead. They didn't need another sick kid after they were sure it all had passed.

Sam waved off her mother's hand. "I'm fine, Mom." She stuffed the paper in her backpack. "It was just a headache. It's gone now."

"Good." Katniss turned toward the door and called, "Rebecca Hawthorne, you better get yourself in here and finish breakfast."

Becca stepped through the door with a put-upon look on her face. "I couldn't find a shirt." She slid into her chair and shoveled cereal into her mouth. "It's all soggy." She groaned.

"Maybe you should have gotten dressed faster." Katniss suggested, tipping her own bowl to her mouth.

Gale looked up at the clock. "Time to get going. Socks, shoes, backpacks."

Then Sam couldn't find a pair of shoes that matched and Becca had a meltdown over her socks "squeezing her legs." Gale found her a pair of her sister's socks that fell down, but apparently that was better than socks that were getting too small.

They finally got in the car and Becca screamed that she needed the bathroom. Gale told her to hold it. "We'll be at school in less than two minutes."

Katniss dropped the girls off and then headed to the shop. She parked and Gale placed his hand on her arm before she could get out.

"Can we talk?" He asked softly.

"What about?" Please don't ask about this morning.

"You do a great job with them." He slid his hand down to press his fingers between hers. "I don't think we talk about it enough. You're fantastic."

"When you're a mother from a young age, sometimes it gets a little second nature." She squeezed his hand. "You're doing a great job with them too."

He leaned close. "Can I have a kiss now?"

She smiled and pressed her lips against his for a quick peck.

"I love you." Gale murmured against her lips before he kissed her again.

Katniss grinned and pushed him away. "We have a shit ton of work to do." She got out and walked toward the door without looking behind her.

She had her plans all ready and most of her equipment in place. She stood in her office and tried to work on her own, but decided it was far too quiet. So many memories of the dream flooded her mind again. There was no way she would get anything done without some sort of motivation. Gale always provided that just by his presence. She picked up her phone and sent Gale a message.

Can I come work with you?

Gale's reply came very quickly. Sure. I'll clean off a table for you.

Katniss gathered her things and made her way down the hall to Gale's shop. As promised, there was a work table clear for her.

"Thanks. It was boring in my own room." She commented as she started setting out her tools.

He chuckled. "It gets pretty old. Remember before we moved here when we were all on top of each other?"

"I remember." She looked over the wood she'd just started carving for a new bow. "That's where I got to see everything done. Why I wanted to work here with you when my dad died. Not just because I already knew everything from him."

Gale walked over and leaned against the opposite end of the table. "I know you miss them most this time of year. But I promise that they would be proud of you."

Katniss nodded and kept working. She hated crying when other people could see. Not Gale so much. She didn't mind showing off her emotions to him. He'd seen them all anyway. She wasn't a good pregnant woman and had shown all of them to him both times, going from happy to angry to sad all at the drop of a hat.

He walked around and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Is that what's been going on? Why you've been so hot and cold?"

"It's a lot of things." She leaned into his side. "I must be going through a mid-life crisis or something."

He snorted. "You're not even thirty yet. You can't be going through a mid-life crisis."

She laughed and pressed her eyes into his shoulder. "Maybe."

The door opened up and Madge stepped in, stopping short when she saw the couple. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can come back later."

She started to back away, but Katniss called, "It's fine. We were just about to get back to work." She gently pushed Gale away. "You have three orders to finish before the end of the week."

He sighed and moved back to his workstation.

Madge stood awkwardly just inside the door. "So I'm putting together a packet for the successful holiday season. We've got sales way up this year. Do you guys mind if I take some shots?" She held up her camera.

"Go for it." Gale said, leaning over a set of oars he was crafting to match a double kayak he'd made the year before.

Katniss knew how talented her husband was and she loved whenever someone placed an order with him. He always showed off his sketches and shared files with her constantly through the whole process. She was distracted by the clicking of the camera, but also by the steady movement of Gale's hands as he sanded and shaped the second oar to match the first.

When Madge turned to her, Katniss went back to work. The carving was almost done.

She still had to shape it and that took a while. She had a special set-up in her shop for the process that she could put it in later. She had arrows to make anyway.

"I think it will make a nice little shot to see husband and wife working in the same room." Madge said. Something in her voice seemed off to Katniss, but she brushed it off when Madge spoke again. "It really promotes the family business." She stood back and took several pictures of both Katniss and Gale working. "Looks good. I'll leave you two alone now."

Katniss continued to work as Madge left. But after a while, she noticed the sound of her sanding was the only one in the room. She looked up to see Gale watching her intently. They shared a smile and then he went back to work.

There was very little talk all morning. Gale asked Katniss to help him with a few things and she asked his opinion on her own designs. They worked so well together.

At lunchtime, Gale stood and stretched. "How about I go get us some sandwiches and we can eat in here?"

Katniss looked at his work station. All his projects were neatly arranged. "Are you on track with your deadlines?"

"I'm a little behind." He admitted, looking over his things.

She nodded. "I'm actually ahead. So you keep working and I'll get food."

When Katniss returned from her food run she noticed Gale had cleared off his main worktable and placed a sheet over it. A series of boxes were placed beside it to create steps.

"A picnic?" Katniss asked.

Gale smiled and held out his hand. "Yes. Because we don't do enough spontaneously."

She sat the bags of food on the table and slipped her hand into Gale's as he helped her up onto the table. He followed her up and dug through the bag.

"You got me a Reuben." He said as he pulled it out. "This looks awesome."

"It does. I got myself a turkey club. And…" She lifted out a large Styrofoam container and opened it. "Cheese fries."

Gale gasped. "I knew there was a reason I married you." He reached over and picked up one of the fries, a long string of melted cheese following.

Katniss laughed. "Yeah, because I know you like cheese fries. Not because you love me or anything."

"I'll love you for the rest of my life, Catnip." He said softly.

She swallowed the bite she'd taken and then pulled on his shirt, meeting him with a kiss. "I know you will. No matter what happens, I'll always love you too, Gale."

She sat back and they ate their meal in silence. Gale had his hand resting on her leg. Katniss smiled, rubbing his knuckles. She wanted to dawdle for a while, but she knew that they were both under a time-crunch.

She popped the last bite into her mouth and hopped off the table. "Let's make some Christmas wishes come true." She stepped toward her pile of work.

He sighed heavily and got up. "I guess so."