Author's note: I've planned on posting this for a while, but I got caught up writing on my original novel. But I have another chapter on deck, so I hope to have that one up in a week (maybe less). There's a lot of Gadge in this chapter. So if you're here for the Everlark I'm sorry (but not entirely because I have a huge soft spot for Gale and I won't apologize for that).

Many thanks to my beta JavisTG! Go read her stuff!

Happy reading!

Chapter Sixteen

Gale rubbed Becca's back sleepily. She'd cried herself to a fitful sleep for the next several hours.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand and he answered before the screaming started again.

"Hello?" Gale tried to keep his voice as soft as possible, but Becca still stirred.

"Hi." Madge said. "Are you okay? You haven't answered any of my texts."

Gale looked down at the sleeping form of his daughter and slowly got out of the bed to walk down the hall to sit on the stairs. "Katniss left." He was surprised at how thick his voice was. "Sam went with her and Becca decided to stay. But it's been a rough evening."

"What happens next?" Madge asked.

Gale rubbed his face and sighed. "Tonight I'd just really like to sleep." A sob escaped him. "Are they going to hate me, Madge? Will my daughters think I'm a horrible person when they get older and start asking questions and find out how I lied?"

"Do you want me to come over, Gale?" She asked softly.

"No." He said quickly. "That wouldn't be right."

"Okay. Then I'll stay on the phone as long as you need me to." She paused. "I don't think they'll hate you. I think they may be hurt, but they won't hate you. Just answer their questions as they come. Be honest with them."

"And therapy, right?" He wiped his eyes and stood, making his way back to the bedroom.

"Yes, therapy is very helpful."

"I'll talk to Katniss about it." He leaned against the doorframe. Becca was finally relaxed, her arms and legs thrown out across the bed. "She suggested that you and I should do something with the girls. You know, just us."

"I think that would be good." Madge yawned. "What about that pizza and a movie?"

"Sure. We can go Friday, if you want."

"Then it's a date."

Gale turned away from the bedroom. "A date?"

"If you want it to be." She quickly said. "It could just as easily be friends hanging out."

He ran his hand through his hair. "Just friends for now, Madge. Okay? For the girls' sake."

"I can do that. Totally." She assured him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"No, I'm not coming in. Katniss and I need to do some stuff." He swallowed. "We haven't filed for divorce yet, but it needs to just happen. We were waiting for the holidays, but…"

"Do you need me to do anything? Bring you anything?"

"I'm fine." Gale sighed.

"I have a few connections." Madge said softly. "I could help move things along on a fast track. All I have to do is call my dad and he can pull some strings."

"I don't know, Madge."

"Just a suggestion."

"Thanks." He sighed. "I need to try to get some sleep." Gale walked back toward Becca's room.

"Text me, okay?" Madge asked.

"I will." Gale finished the call and then headed toward the master bedroom.

Becca bounced up and down in the seat when she saw where Gale pulled in. "Can I see Callie?" She asked.

Gale chuckled. "If she's in there. I thought we could get some donuts for Mom and Sam."

"And Aunt Prim and Uncle Rory?" Becca threw off her seatbelt as soon as the car stopped moving.

"Yes, of course." Gale slid out of the seat and hurried around to lift Becca out onto his shoulders.

Peeta greeted them with a warm smile when he recognized them. "What can I do for you?"

"Is Callie here?" Becca asked over her father's shoulder.

Peeta shook his head. "She's at home with her grandma getting ready for school."

"Aw, man." Becca sighed.

Gale patted her arm. "You're going to see her soon. You'll be fine." He turned back to Peeta. "Can we get a dozen donuts?"

"Sure." Peeta moved toward the section of donuts. "Frosted, plain, or assorted?"

Becca pointed, "I want that pink one! Please, Daddy?"

Gale chuckled. "Sure." He nodded toward the case. "Pink for Becca. Sam would want chocolate, right?"

"No, she likes the plain ones." Becca said. "But Mama probably wants chocolate."

"Mama likes plain, too." Gale said. "Go ahead and do assorted for the rest of them, please."

"So how are Katniss and Sam this morning?" Peeta asked as he finished filling the box.

"Don't know yet." Becca said. "They stayed with Aunt Prim."

"Oh." Peeta closed the box. "I didn't know that."

Gale felt a little smug for a moment. "Yeah." He looked around the shop at the curious customers. "How much do I owe you?"

Peeta gave a price and Gale handed over his card.

An older man that bore a very strong resemblance to Peeta stepped into the front. He smiled at Becca and greeted her. He held out his hand to Gale. "You must be Gale."

Gale shook his offered hand. "I am. You're Peeta's dad?"

"His name is Conrad, Daddy." Becca said as she hopped down from her father's shoulders. "We're buying donuts."

"Graham made the donuts this morning." Conrad said with a grin. "He's better than me these days."

"But I'm better than Graham." Peeta handed the box of donuts to Becca. "You want to carry those?"

Becca turned her face up to Gale. "Can I, Daddy?"

"Yeah, just be careful." Gale stuck his debit card back in his wallet.

"Tell Katniss and Sam hello for us." Conrad said with a warm smile.

"We will." Gale rested his hand on top of Becca's head. "Thanks." He guided Becca through the crowd.

"Hey, Gale?" Peeta called.

Gale stopped and turned. "Yeah?"

"Where do Sam and Becca spend the break?" Peeta asked. "Do they go to work with you and Katniss?"

"Sometimes." Gale glanced down at Becca, a tightening in his chest. "Sometimes they stay with my sister, but she's got a baby of her own, so I don't know this year."

"Well, my stepmom said that she would love to keep an eye on them a day or two if you need." Peeta smiled at Becca. "I was going to call Katniss later and talk to her about it."

"I'm sure Becs here would love that." Gale rubbed his daughter's head. "I'll talk to Katniss."

"Good." Peeta nodded. "I got to get back to work. It was good seeing you."

"Yeah." Gale guided Becca out the door.

"Can I stay with Cara, Daddy?" Becca asked as she climbed into the SUV.

"I'll talk to your mom about it." Gale assured her, climbing into the driver's seat.

"Come on, Sam-Sam, it's time to get up." Katniss said as she shook Sam's shoulder for the millionth time.

"I don't want to go anywhere, Mom." Sam pulled the blanket over her head.

"Baby, you have to get up for school. There are only a few more days until break."

The doorbell rang.

"Who shows up at a house this early?" Sam sat up.

Becca called, "We brought donuts from Conrad's bakery."

"Daddy's here?" Sam jumped out of the bed and ran into the front of the house.

"Should have just called him." Katniss said as she followed her daughter into the other room at a much slower pace.

Gale talked softly with Rory in the kitchen, Rory pouring out mugs of coffee. Sam was wrapped around his waist and he rocked her back and forth. He smoothed his hand over her hair.

Becca ran over to Katniss and hugged her tightly. "Mama, I missed you so much!"

Katniss lifted her up and carried her into the other room. "I missed you too."

"We saw Peeta, Mama." Becca explained. "And he said that Cara wanted to watch me and Sam over the break."

"Did she?" Katniss looked to Gale for confirmation.

Gale nodded. "I told Peeta I'd talk to you about it."

She smiled. "You saw Peeta?"

He returned her smile. "I did." He glanced to Rory. "Help yourselves to donuts." He kissed the top of Sam's head. "I want to talk to your mom a minute, okay?"

Sam nodded and moved toward the box on the counter.

Becca hopped out of her mother's arms. "The pink one is mine. But if you want it, Sam, you can have it."

Gale and Katniss moved into the living room. Gale combed his fingers through his hair. "I think we should go to the courthouse today. Get the stuff we need for the divorce."

"Are you sure you don't want to wait until after the holidays?"

He shook his head. "We should just get it over with, Catnip. After that, I'll help with all the other stuff."

"Thank you." She swallowed. "I didn't want to do it alone, but…"

"I know." He smiled. "We're both so stubborn."

"We are." She laughed.

"Madge offered to see if her dad can pull some strings and speed it along. I told her no for now."

"We should be fine going the normal pace." She smiled as Becca walked into the room.

"Here you go, Mama." Becca held out a chocolate donut.

"Thanks, baby." Katniss pulled Becca onto her lap and pressed her eyes into her daughter's hair. "I missed you so much, Becca."

"I missed you, Mama." Becca said softly. "I cried and cried."

"I cried and cried too." Katniss kissed her cheek and took the donut. "Thanks for bringing me a donut."

"Hey, where's mine?" Gale asked.

"You can get your own, Daddy." Becca tucked herself into a ball against her mother's chest. "Daddy sang the meadow song, but it wasn't as good as when you sing it."

Katniss laughed. "Dad can't carry a tune." She winked at Gale as his head whipped around to glare at her. She hummed the song as she ate her donut.

Madge picked up her phone for the millionth time. Gale hadn't sent her a single text all day. She struggled through her work as she tried to ignore the silence. Bobby and Hazelle had both been a little cold, but were starting to warm up. Madge guessed it was due to the secret she and Gale had kept for so long.

Finally, late in the afternoon, her phone started ringing.

"Gale?" She said maybe a little too anxiously.

Gale laughed on the other end. "Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't call sooner. Katniss and I were in with a lawyer for the morning."

"And what did you find out?"

"It's going to take ninety days for the divorce to be final. But since we're doing this mutually, there's not a whole lot of issue." He sighed. "And we agreed to therapy. Katniss suggested it, oddly enough."

She smiled to herself. "Well, it'll help a lot. It was good for me when my dad moved and I was still here."

"Kind of a sucky thing for him to do." Gale said. "Just take off."

"Well, my mom died. There were just painful memories here for him." She explained. "Therapy helped me discover that."

"Well, I took it upon myself to research family and child therapists. Want to help me with that?"

"Gladly." Madge sat on the floor behind her desk. "I missed you today."

"I miss you too." Gale's voice grew quiet. "I feel drained and disconnected."

"I'm here for the recharge, Gale." She said.

"Thank you, Madge. Hold on." She could hear a muffled conversation. He must be talking with Katniss. "I'm back. Sorry, Katniss and I are going to meet up with a realtor about selling the house. She was telling me about the appointment."

"You're selling your house?" Madge felt her heart constrict for the girls. "Where are you going to live?"

"My parents' house for a while. Katniss is staying with her sister until she gets a place." He paused and she could almost picture him rubbing his face. "I think Becca's going to stay with me and Sam with Katniss until we get a little more settled. Probably switch off."

"Are we still on for Friday?" She asked as she got back to her desk.

"I'm in if you are." She could hear the shift in his voice. "We'll talk a little more tomorrow when I get in. I have to go. I'm sure you need to get back to work."

"Yeah." She sighed. "So many questions this time of year."

"And I'm behind. I'll probably come in and work the evenings to try and catch up." He paused. "Just a minute, Catnip." He went back to the conversation with Madge. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Later." Madge hung up the call and turned back to her computer. It bothered her that he still used that old nickname with Katniss. It was far too intimate. She supposed she couldn't fault him, but it was still a bit of a sting.

She pushed that away and worked hard for the rest of the day. Though she did jump to answer her phone every time it went off. She ignored everything that wasn't work-related until it was Gale again.