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"What do you mean, you haven't heard anything?" Katniss asks. "It's only three days from now. How can they not know if they are coming or not?"

"Well, that's my parents for you," I snap, instantly regretting my sharp voice when I hear her huff into the phone. "I'm sorry, love. I'm not upset with you, you know that. But this is not at all surprising to me. Knowing my mother, she's forbidden Casey to leave her house since she's due at the end of the month."

"Seriously?" Katniss replies. "Like she's gonna injure herself if she comes to your graduation?"

"I'm sure my mother thinks she might," I say, sighing. "All those stairs at the stadium, you know."

"Okay, fine. But that doesn't mean she can't come. Or your dad. Does it? Or are they really that disgusted by the fact that you're marrying someone from Seam County?"

"Katniss, please just drop it. I sent the announcements out last week, and I texted the details to Ban, Rye, and my father. They all know when and where it is. I'm not sure what else I can do."

"Hmph," she grumbles. "I still think it's unacceptable for your family not to come and see you graduate. You have a perfect GPA, graduating Summa Cum Laude, two points away from the top of your class. It's just not right. You'd think they would be tripping over themselves to be there so they can brag about you."

I flop backwards onto the futon, my frustration tempered by picturing the adorable scowl on my fiancée's face right now. "I'll have you there," I say gently. "And Finnick, and a lot of our church family. That's more than enough for me. And if my parents don't show up then we don't have to worry about having to spend time with them once the ceremony is over."

"Well, that's true," she concedes. "I guess that is one advantage. But still-"

"Katniss, please! I don't really want to talk about my family anymore."

"I picked up some apartment guides today," she says without missing a beat. "I thought we could start looking through them this weekend."

I immediately grin, my annoyance evaporating into excitement. "That's a wonderful idea! We can start Friday night before group."

"There's a nice building a couple blocks from the Community Center," she adds. "If we lived there, then I could walk to work and you could have the car during the day."

"Unless we buy another car," I say as I sit back up, scrubbing at my face.

"No, I don't think we need another car. If we-"

"Katniss," I say gently. "We can talk about it. We don't have to decide right now."

I hear her sigh. "Okay."

"I'd feel better talking about this stuff face to face."

"Yeah," she says. "That makes sense." She stifles a yawn. "It's getting late, and I'm almost out of phone minutes anyway. I need to pick up a recharge card tomorrow."

"And that's another thing we need to talk about. We should get you on my phone plan."

"We can talk about it Friday," she says, yawning again and causing me to yawn as well. "I'll text tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Sleep well, my love."

"Goodnight Peeta."

Katniss picks me up at noon on Saturday to head down to the college for my graduation ceremony. Finnick has promised to be there, with Annie coming along if they manage to find a babysitter for Finn. Delly and her family will be there for Thom, and I know a few other people from Mountainside will be attending also, so I'll have plenty of people cheering for me as I receive my degree.

I'm crowded in with the rest of the Discipleship graduates as we wait for the ceremony to begin, already starting to sweat under the bright blue cap and gown despite the well air-conditioned arena. I turn at the sound of Delly calling my name, expecting to see Katniss sitting next to her.

Katniss is indeed there and sitting with Finnick, with Delly, Delly's parents, and Thom's family all sitting one row up from her. But I'm shocked to see my brothers sitting in the row in front of Katniss, along with Ban's very pregnant wife and both of my parents. Katniss waves to me, smiling smugly, and I blow her a kiss in response, too choked up to speak.

She's even braver than I thought to take on my parents by herself after the way she was treated at Christmas. I don't deserve her.

Pomp and Circumstance begins to play and we all fall into line, following the various deans and other faculty into the rows of chairs set up on the arena floor. The Discipleship College is the second group to receive our degrees, and since Mellark falls in the center of the alphabet it's a good hour once all the speeches are done before my name is finally called. I walk up the stairs to the stage, managing to not trip, and smile as I accept my diploma and get my photo taken with the Dean, basking in the cheers of my friends and my beloved.

I am finally done with school. Done with studying, done with classes and papers and exams, done with paying tuition. Thank you Jesus!

Another hour later and the ceremony is over, with the Dean offering a final congratulations before we're all marched out of the arena. Once I reach the staging area I hang back for a bit, not wanting to get tripped up in the mad race of graduates trying to find their families on the upper levels.

"There he is, finally!" I hear my mother's shrill voice call out from down the hall before I even see her. "What took you so long? Casey's been standing around on these cement floors and she needs to sit down!" Katniss and Finnick are standing off to the side, with identical looks of pained amusement plastered across both their faces.

"Mom, Casey is fine!" Bannock chastises as he walks towards me. "Peeta! Congratulations little brother!"

"Hey, thanks for coming," I say as Ban gives me a hug. "I really appreciate it."

"Yes, yes, congratulations indeed," my mother cuts in. "But now it's over and we really need to get Casey home. She's been out long enough and she needs to rest."

"Mother, I really am fine-" Casey starts.

"Nonsense. Women in your condition need to be treated delicately," Mom insists. "Why, when I was pregnant I did as little as possible, and let people wait on me hand and foot. Bannock, you will go and get the car for us so we can get your wife home."

"But-" Ban starts to argue, but then thinks better of it as he looks towards me. "We'll talk again soon, Peeta."

"Yeah, it's fine," I mutter. "Go take care of your wife."

Ban rolls his eyes as he pulls his keys from his pocket, looking over in Mom's direction. "I'll pull up next to the side entrance."

"I think there's a bench out there where we can sit down," Mom says. "Casey and I will wait for you there." Then she grabs Casey's elbow and starts leading her gingerly down the hall towards the doors, while the rest of us watch in silence.

"Well," Finnick finally says. "Congratulations, Peeta." He too gives me a hug, thumping me twice on the back. "I know it feels good to have that over with."

"Yes it does," I agree as I reach for Katniss's hand, relaxing as her fingers slide in between my own. "It really does."

"Yeah, I know it," Finnick agrees. "And I hate to be like this, but I really should get back to my own pregnant wife. We couldn't find a sitter for today, and Finn's been going through some sort of sleep regression ever since we got here and only Mommy can comfort him, so poor Annie's exhausted."

"It's okay, Finnick, I understand." I tell him. "Thank you for coming, and say hello to Annie for us.

"Will do," he says, clapping me on the shoulder. "Take care, everyone." He waves as he saunters away.

"Peeta," my father pipes up once Finnick is gone. "I was wondering if I could have a minute with you before we go?"

"Ah, sure," I reply nervously. I don't want to leave Katniss alone with Rye any longer than I have to.

"Won't take but a few minutes," Dad insists, smiling at Katniss. "I know you're probably eager to celebrate properly."

I hand Katniss my diploma along with the square cap and tassel, kissing her on the cheek. "I'll be quick, then we can get out of here."

"I'll be fine," she whispers, squeezing my hand.

My father leads us over to one of the tall tables set up against the wall near a concession window, pulling a folded envelope from his shirt pocket as we arrive.

"This is for you," he says, passing me the envelope. "Graduation gift."

"Thanks," I say in surprise. I wasn't expecting him to even be here, much less show up bearing any type of gift.

"I'd like you to open it now, Peeta," he says, looking nervous. "If you don't mind."

"Um, okay. Sure." Sliding my finger under the seal, I rip it open, managing to avoid giving myself a papercut. As soon as it's open a credit card slides out, landing on the table. "What's this?"

"There's a check inside also," Dad stammers. He reaches into the torn envelope, pulling out the check and handing it to me. It's written for fourteen thousand dollars.

My head snaps up, looking at him with wide, shocked eyes. "Why? What's this for?"

"It's your college fund, son." His hand runs through his hair as he shakes his head. "That check is for you to deposit, since it's the largest amount I could give you without you getting taxed on it." He picks up the Visa card. "And this card is linked to an account that holds the rest. The PIN number is your birthday."

My college fund. The money my parents would've used to pay my tuition at the state university where I was supposed to go to school. If I hadn't had my accident.

"But why?" I insist through clenched teeth. Instead of being grateful I'm only feeling anger, which is likely not the emotional response my father was expecting. "Why are you doing this? Why now?"

He closes his free hand around mine holding the check. "Because it should've been yours five years ago." His hand tightens on mine briefly before releasing it, sliding the credit card across the table until it bumps into my arm.

"I'm sorry, Peeta," he says, shaking his head and sighing heavily, his gaze trained on the card. "I'm sorry I wasn't stronger. I'm sorry I didn't stick up for you when you needed me. I'm sorry you had to wait an extra year to start school. I'm sorry you had to work so hard to support yourself. And I'm sorry that I don't know a better way to make it up to you than this."

I stare down at the table, refusing to meet his eyes, trying to process the slew of emotions raging through me. That day I limped out of my parents' house with nothing but a backpack full of clothes and a few boxes of books was one of the hardest days of my life. I've worked my fingers to the bone ever since then, and have the burn scars to prove it. Putting myself through school while working full-time was incredibly hard, and I resented it often.

But I did it. Sometimes I had to survive on nothing but bananas, peanut butter, and orange juice when I had to buy extra books for a semester, or pay my honor society fees. But I still did it.

And now, after all that, after I've finally graduated, my dad wants to hand me the money he could've given me five years ago.

"Please, Peeta, take it," my father begs. "Buy a car. Move into a bigger place. Take that pretty little fiancée of yours on an incredible honeymoon. Just please, take it. It's already yours anyway."

My hand squeezes around the crumpled check sticking out of my fist. "Does Mom know about this?"

Dad gulps, closing his eyes briefly as he nods. "Yes, she does. And I'll admit, she was completely against it. We argued about it for over a week. She banished me to the sofa, even threatened to move in with Ban and Casey if I didn't relent." He scoffs, rolling his eyes. "But I told her in no uncertain terms that it had to be done, and I stuck to it. And she came around. Eventually."

I shake my head, trying to imagine the look of horror on my mother's face when she realized that my father wasn't backing down like he always had before.

"I don't know. Katniss-" I break off, clearing my throat. "Katniss won't like this. I'll need to talk to her about it first."

Dad's shoulders sag, and he looks old to me all of a sudden. Worn and beat down, with lines around his eyes and his blond hair streaked with silver. I guess all those years of waking up at 4am to run the bakery are starting to catch up with him. He's almost fifty-five now. Probably due to retire soon, although who knows if he ever will. I can't imagine how he'd do at home all day with only my mother for company.

"You talk to her, then," he says firmly. "Make sure she knows it's a gift and not a loan. Make sure she knows that." He leans in, glancing over in Katniss's direction. "I've never seen you as happy as you are now, Peeta. Never in my life. And the way she looks at you… well." He straightens up, nodding towards my hand still holding the check. "Talk to her. She'll understand if you talk to her."

"Okay," I say, nodding grimly. I fish my wallet out of my pocket, stuffing the check and Visa card inside. "But I'm not promising anything. She won't look kindly on this at first."

"No, I suppose not," Dad concedes. "I can't really blame her I suppose. The way our family treated her at Christmas was shameful."

"Yes it was!" I snap, slamming my fist down on the table. "You know, Katniss grew up with practically nothing. She barely had a roof over her head. Her dad worked twelve hour days, six days a week cutting down trees, and he still had to hunt for food so they could have enough to eat sometimes." My father's eyes widen in shock briefly, before dropping back down to the tabletop.

"But to hear her describe how much her mom and dad loved each other, and how much she loved her sister, you'd think they were the wealthiest family in the world." I take a deep, shaky breath, willing myself to calm down. It won't do me any good for Katniss to see me upset.

"She was the one who wanted us to come over on Christmas. Because to her, the thought that I had a family who I didn't want to be around was so foreign, she couldn't even wrap her mind around it. Not until she saw it with her own eyes."

Dad flinches like I've slapped him. "Peeta-"

"I'm sorry," I say quickly. "I shouldn't have said that, it wasn't nice."

"No, no, I'm sure it's the truth," Dad admits, raking his hand through his hair again. "I won't lie and say you had the best example of parental love."

"Yeah well, now's not the time to be discussing that." I glance over at Katniss, standing with Rye and looking around awkwardly. "We should get going-"

"Yeah, your mother's probably wondering where we are," Dad says with a false chuckle. He walks around the table, engulfing me in a hug. "I'm proud of you, Peeta. You've done so well, and I couldn't be prouder." He releases me, ruffling my hair. "If anything, try to remember that."

I walk over to Katniss and Rye, immediately wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "Ready to go?"

Katniss nods, her eyes widening as my father pulls her into a hug. "Thank you for inviting us, my dear," he says. Then he shakes my hand. "Congratulations again, son. You should be proud."

"Thanks," I mumble, nodding in Rye's direction.

"See ya, little brother," he chortles, winking as he cuffs me behind my ear, something he used to do all the time when we were kids. He laughs at my cry of indignation but starts backing away with his hands raised in surrender when he sees the angry look on Katniss's face. "Just kidding, just kidding…"

We watch them go, then turn around in the other direction, taking the long way back to Katniss's car.

"Are you hungry?" she asks.

"Starving."

"Does Thai food sound good?"

"Sure."

"Alright. Then we can talk about why you're upset."

"I'm not upset." I hesitate, squeezing her hand. "Well, not at you."

We walk in silence until we reach the exit doors where I pause, taking Katniss by the elbows so she can face me. "Hey. I need to thank you for getting in touch with my parents. That was really brave."

"No, you don't," she says. Her hands find their familiar spot on my chest but her eyes are staring straight ahead. "I shouldn't have called them. All it did was make you upset."

"No!" I yelp in dismay, horrified that she would think that any of my parents' nonsense is her fault. "Katniss-." I huff out a breath, trying to put my jumbled thoughts into words. "My father just… surprised me is all, and it's something we need to talk about." I tilt her chin up so she'll look at me. "It's not necessarily bad, okay? Just surprising, so we need to talk about what to do about it. But right now I just want to get out of here and go eat."

And being the wonderful, understanding woman that she is, she reaches up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek and takes my hand. "Okay. Let's go."

Since the Thai place is takeout only, we pick up our food and bring it back to the coffee shop. By the time I've finished eating and changed into more comfortable clothes, I'm feeling a lot better.

"So when should we start looking at places?" Katniss asks, sweeping her hand across the magazine-style apartment guides littering the surface of the coffee table. "Most of these say they need at least thirty days' notice, preferably sixty."

"Probably in July, then," I say as I sit back down next to her. "We can move you in on September first, before the wedding. Then we can move my stuff in afterwards."

Katniss immediately shakes her head. "Then you'll be stuck paying rent for almost a whole month that you won't be living here. Maybe you could stay with Finnick and Annie for that week. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

"Katniss," I say gently. "It's much easier for me to just walk downstairs to work than try to figure out how I'd get here every day. Besides, the rent isn't that much-"

"No. It's still money you wouldn't have to spend," Katniss insists. "All this wedding stuff is so expensive, we should be saving what we can when we can." Her voice breaks off, her eyes focused on something in the distance. "You might need a new prosthesis sometime in the future that insurance won't cover. We may not be able to find a house that's accessible and have to make alterations. Or any number of other things." She inhales shakily, shaking her head. "And… you never know what could happen… "

She's thinking about what happened to her father. "Hey," I murmur, pulling her into my arms. "Nothing's going to happen to me."

"You don't know that," she says into my chest. "You can't know that."

"Maybe not," I concede. "But you can't live your life planning for something that hopefully won't ever happen. You and I are going to have a very long, very happy life together."

She gathers a fistful of my t-shirt, pressing it against her nose and breathing in. "I hope so."

I plant a kiss on the top of her head. "I know so." I pause for a moment, trailing my fingers up and down her back. "Can I tell you what my dad and I talked about now?"

"Sure."

Leaning forward, I grab my wallet off the coffee table, retrieving the check and debit card that my father gave me and pressing them into Katniss's small hand. "Here. My dad's graduation gift."

Katniss's grey eyes widen to the size of pie plates as she reads the amount written on the check. Her hand is shaking as she turns to me. "What's this?"

I inhale a sharp breath. "It's the money from my college fund."

She stares at me for a few seconds, then turns her gaze back to the check as her eyes narrow and her lips twist into a scowl. "And what did you say to him?"

"I told him we would have to talk about it."

"Well, I don't want it," she snaps. She places it and the card back on the coffee table. "So you can just rip it up. I don't want anything from your parents."

"That's exactly what I told my father," I explain as I grasp her hand. "And if that's how you truly feel, then that's what we'll do. But I want us to talk about it again when we're both calmer, and pray about it before we do anything permanent."

"But, Peeta-"

"I insist, Katniss," I say firmly. "I'm not sure how I feel about it yet myself. My instinctive reaction was the same as yours, which tells me we need to pray about it before we decide."

Katniss huffs out a breath, glaring at the coffee table. "How much is it altogether?"

"I don't even know. I didn't ask."

She continues to stare at the coffee table, intermittently shaking her head. "Do you know what your mother said today? Before your ceremony started?"

My heart sinks down to my knees as my jaw clenches. "No. But I don't imagine it was anything good."

Katniss looks back at me, letting out a humorless chuckle. "She was whispering to your sister-in-law; probably thought I couldn't hear her." She chuckles again. "But my hearing has always been almost super-human. My dad used to tell me that I could hear dewdrops rolling down blades of grass."

"What did she say, Katniss?" I grumble.

She looks down at her hands, her chin quivering and nearly cleaving my heart in two. "She said that she couldn't figure out what you saw in me. Since 'I'm not very big, or particularly pretty'."

I can feel the ugly sneer on my face as I shake my head. "My mom has no business saying anything about you. To Casey or anyone else." I gather her close to me, stroking her hair. "No business at all, Katniss. You know that."

"Yeah, I do," she mumbles. "But that wasn't even the worst part."

My hand closes around her long, silky braid, my knuckles turning white before I release it. "Okay. Then what was the worst part?"

Her nose rubs against my sternum. "After she said that, about me not being pretty, she didn't even give Casey a chance to reply before she said the rest. She said, 'oh well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I mean, what do you expect from someone like Peeta? It's a wonder he was able to find someone to even agree to marry him with that handicap of his'."

She snaps her head up, her eyes a mix of fiery anger and fierce protectiveness. "I wanted so badly to tell her where she could go, Peeta. It was on the tip of my tongue." Her hand moves to caress my cheek. "No mother should ever talk about her child that way. And no one especially should ever talk about you that way." I close my eyes, feeling her thumb brush back and forth over my cheekbone. "But then I remembered that song we heard at the concert, about forgiving people because they know not what they do. So instead of telling her off, I just took a deep breath and bit back the retort I had ready."

She pauses again, leaning up to kiss my cheek. "But that doesn't mean I want any of her money. And I don't see myself changing my mind about it."

I dip my head to kiss her, thanking the Lord for the umteenth time for putting me in the path of this incredible girl. "Well, can I tell you one more thing that might help?"

Her brow furrows, her hand tightening on my cheek as she sighs. "You can try, but I doubt it will."

My hand reaches up, closing over her own and bringing it to my lips. "When my dad was talking to me, I asked him if Mom had approved, about him giving us the money. He said she hadn't, but that he'd told her he was gonna give it to us anyway. No matter what she said. He said she threatened to leave their house, made him sleep on the couch, all the old tricks she used to do to get him to go her way. But he stood his ground."

I press my lips to her hand again. "Katniss, that's the first time my dad has ever stood up to her when it came to me. The first time ever! So while I think we still need to pray about this, that alone would make me feel better about accepting it."

She stares at me, unblinking, her full lips pressed tightly together. "Alright," she finally croaks. "We can pray about it."

"That's all I'm asking," I breathe as I draw her into a hug. "Thank you."

"You're lucky I love you," she mutters against my shoulder, causing me to burst out laughing.

"Yes I am."

On paper, having four months to plan out a small, casual wedding ceremony and reception would seem like plenty of time, but apparently none of the usual vendors of wedding stuff agree with that assessment. Katniss and I get the florist and photographer booked first, brushing aside their concerns with the "short notice" and managing to save a lot of money by forgoing the use of roses in our floral arrangements. We set up our gift registry on Amazon and at Target, making sure to select plenty of kitchen supplies. I cannot wait to start cooking and baking again in a real kitchen.

We decide against having a sit down meal at the reception, choosing instead to have a buffet catered by a local restaurant. Hiring a baker for the wedding cake is unnecessary, as Katniss insists that I bake and decorate our cake myself, garnering permission from the coffee shop manager to use the big kitchen the week prior to the wedding.

Rue volunteers herself and several of her friends from her school's orchestra to provide music for the ceremony and reception, so we end up not having to hire a band or deejay. And one of Katniss's coworkers at the Community Center also runs an Etsy shop that does calligraphy and other fancy lettering, so we hire her to print out our invitations. From what I remember my brother's invitations costing, ours come out to be only a third of the cost per invite.

We manage to sneak one premarital counseling session in with Finnick and Annie before their new baby boy Noah arrives the first week of June. Katniss and I drop by their apartment with dinner the day after they return from the hospital, staying for a few minutes to admire the cute pink bundle of bronze hair and bluish-green eyes, with dimples just like his daddy. I have to steel myself against a flood of emotions as I watch Katniss holding and cooing over the adorable baby. We haven't really discussed children yet, and while I know it's something the church will address during one of our counseling sessions, I can't help but feel a stab of anxiety about it, remembering when Katniss yelled at me that she wasn't sure if she even wanted children.

That was different, I try to remind myself. She was different, I was different. We're still very young, we have awhile to think about it. But I won't lie and say it doesn't keep me awake for a couple of nights prior to our first session with Pastor Dale.

As it turns out, the topic of children comes up pretty much right away. Dale has both of us fill out a questionnaire first, using the rest of the session to go over our various answers. Katniss shocks me when she dissolves into tears as we open the conversation about children, confessing that the family doctor she'd gone to see recently at Delly's urging had recommended she go on birth control pills for a while to help her body get back on track. Years of constant stress and malnourishment had almost completely stalled her cycles, but she'd been wary of starting the pills because she was afraid of how both I and Pastor Dale would react.

"My dear Katniss," Dale says as he hands her a tissue, with me holding her hand and feeling bewildered. "There is no need to be so upset! Whatever plans you and Peeta have for children are between yourselves and God only. It's none of anyone else's business. I'm only looking to make sure the two of you are on the same page about this important issue."

"Okay," Katniss sputters, dabbing at her weepy eyes. "I understand."

"I know I want children eventually," I say to Dale. "But right now Katniss's health is more important."

"As long as you both are in agreement," Dale says, glancing between the two of us.

Katniss sniffs as she nods. "We are."

"Alright," Dale says. "Like I said, being in agreement is the most important thing. The when and the how is between you and God."

Katniss leans into me as we move on to the next set of questions, covering topics such as how to argue fairly and encouraging us to attend the church's class on money management. I listen closely, answering questions when necessary, trying to hide my annoyance that Katniss felt she couldn't tell me about her doctor's recommendation until she was essentially forced to do so.

I grab Katniss's hand as soon as we're dismissed from Dale's office, leading her down a rarely used hallway that exits to the back of the church.

"Katniss, you cannot be afraid to talk to me about stuff like that!" I tell her as soon as we're outside. I'm trying hard to keep my frustration at bay because I know she already feels bad about it, but she absolutely needs to understand that it can't happen again.

She swallows hard, her eyes fixed on my shirt collar. "I know."

"This is important stuff we're dealing with here, and I need to know that we can talk about it!"

Her gaze remains stubbornly trained on my chest as she nods. "I'm sorry, Peeta. It was just… assumptions on my part. Incorrect assumptions."

"Yes, they were incorrect." I kiss her forehead to take some sting out of my words. "Listen to me very carefully." I cup her cheek, nudging her to look at me. "You being healthy is the most important thing to me. I'm not gonna be mad at you for taking care of yourself. So if being on those pills is what you need right now, then I'm fine with it. What Dale said back there was absolutely true. Our future plans for a family are no one's business but ours and God's. Okay?"

She tips her head forward as my arms wrap around her. "Okay."

"Good. Don't ever forget that I love you."

"Impossible," she replies with a muffled voice.

"Well, that means I'm doing something right," I say, earning a reassuring squeeze in return.

"Speaking of money management," I continue once we're in the car. "We still need to talk about a honeymoon."

Katniss's perfect cheeks flush as she grins shyly. "I don't really mind where we go. Do you have something in mind?"

I reach for her hand over the console, threading our fingers together. "Actually, yeah. I was thinking we could spend the weekend after the wedding at one of the nice resorts on the next mountain. And then, I'd like to take you on a trip the following Sunday. We'd be gone for the entire week."

"So, two honeymoons?" Katniss asks as we pull into the parking lot of the coffee shop, her grin growing wider. "With a week off in between?"

"Well, yeah," I chuckle. "I guess that's what it would be. I have plenty of vacation time to use, and you said you got two weeks once you started full time, so there's really nothing preventing it. Except… we'd have to use some of the money my dad gave us."

Her face falls, but to my relief she doesn't try to pull away. "Are you positive?"

"Yes," I say softly. "We can afford the weekend at the resort." I reach for her other hand, holding both up to my lips. "Katniss, I really think you'll love where I want to take you. But unless we get a credit card, we can't afford to go. And you said no credit cards, and I agree with you on that. So that leaves my dad's money."

Katniss stares at our joined hands, not moving or saying anything, her eyebrows knitted together.

"Katniss, one of the things my dad said when he gave me that money was to take you on a nice honeymoon, and I want to do just that. I've planned out an amazing trip for us that I think you'll absolutely love, but I won't do it unless you agree." I press a kiss to the back of her hand, willing for her to understand. "I'm not trying to badger you. I'm truly not. But I really, really want to do this for you. For us."

She looks up, her solemn grey eyes meeting mine. "He really said that?"

My lips quirk into a small smile. "His exact words were, 'take that pretty little fiancée of yours on an incredible honeymoon'. So yes, he really did."

I feel her fingers twitch slightly, then squeeze around my own. "Okay."

"Yeah?" I rasp out in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

Nodding, she opens her mouth to reply but I quickly close the distance between us first, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. "Oh thank you!" I manage to get out before I kiss her again, clutching her hands to my chest, heaving with anticipation and desire.

All this talk about honeymoons. That honeymoon can't get here soon enough!

"Thank you," I repeat when we finally break apart and I can breathe again. "I promise you're gonna love it!"

She laughs, pecking me on the lips before releasing my hands. "Go then! Go and book this once-in-a-lifetime trip!"

I wrap my hand around the back of her neck, pulling her to me for one last kiss, smiling so widely I almost ruin it. "You got it. And I love you."

Racing out of the car and up the stairs to my apartment, I don't even take the time to take off my shoes before I grab my laptop, opening it up as I plunk down onto the futon.

"Please don't be sold out, please don't be sold out, please don't be sold out!" I chant as my computer loads the NFL ticket website. I'd noticed that the schedule for the upcoming football season was out when I saw Thresh tacking a copy onto one of his office walls earlier in the week. Looking it over, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Vikings are playing the Ravens this season. Being from different conferences, the two teams don't often play each other, so I first thought that perhaps Katniss and I could host a football party that evening in our new home. But then I had an even better idea.

"Yes!" I exclaim out loud as I peruse the available tickets for the Monday Night Football game during week two of the season. I quickly select two seats on the second level of the stadium, right along the twenty yard-line, adding them to the online shopping cart and checking out with the debit card linked to my father's account.

She's gonna love this! I move on to , now looking at flights and hotel rooms, finding a reasonable rate on plane tickets and a nice hotel for our stay. Once everything is booked and email confirmations have been received, I lean back, breathing out a heavy sigh of relief as I pick up my phone and dial the number I found the other day during my Google search. The football game will be a ton of fun, but the best part of the trip will be what comes afterwards. And I cannot wait to see the look on Katniss's face when she sees it for the first time.

The remaining weeks pass so quickly it's almost scary. Katniss and I spend almost an entire weekend going through Haymitch's things in the storage locker, deciding what to keep and what to donate. Another weekend is spent adding Katniss to my cell phone plan and playing with our new phones, applying for our marriage license, and opening a bank account with the check my father gave us.

Finnick takes me shopping for my suit, under strict instructions from Katniss to make sure the jacket matches my eye color. Delly and Rue help Katniss shop for her dress, managing to find one that both fits our budget but still looks "smashing", according to Delly. We sign the lease on our new apartment during the third week of August and move Katniss in right away on September first, when our new bedroom furniture and mattress is delivered.

It's Thursday evening, the night before the wedding. The post-rehearsal get together we had at the coffee shop has ended and I'm back in the kitchen, putting finishing touches on the katniss flowers covering most of the second tier of the vanilla cake with orange cream cheese filling.

Upstairs, my tiny attic apartment is nearly bare, having moved most of my stuff to our new home earlier in the week. My suit is hanging neatly in its garment bag, my bag is packed for our honeymoon weekend. Our ceremony starts at 6pm, with an expected turnout of around sixty-five people, one more if Rye ends up bringing a date, since apparently he and Madge had a fight and broke up a couple months ago.

Katniss is working tomorrow morning, but will spend the afternoon getting ready at the church with Delly and Rue. Finnick has offered to transport the wedding cake during the day, promising to treat it as carefully as his baby son.

It all seems surreal.

One year ago I was alone. I was a college student beginning my final year, working full-time to pay my tuition and bills and barely scraping by. One year ago I was an angry, bitter, and resentful man who was too blind and arrogant to see just how angry and bitter I was. Looking back on it now, there's no way I would've been offered a job as a pastor. Even if I'd still met Katniss like I did, even if we hadn't gone through our rough patch, even if she'd been ready and willing to move wherever I planned on going, any head pastor worth his title would've seen right through my arrogance, seen right through my facade. I was in no way ready to be a pastor. I wasn't even ready to be a husband.

And God knew it.

He gave me plenty of opportunities to get it right, tried to nudge me in the right direction, even had people flat-out tell me I was doing it wrong.

I refused to listen. And my refusal to listen almost cost me the only girl I've ever loved. The only girl I'll ever love.

But our God is a merciful God. He gave me a second chance, gave us both a second chance to correct our mistakes and our prejudices and showed us how to help each other, and in doing so, helped us fall even more in love with each other.

Thank you, Jesus.

I finish the final blossom on the cake, carefully packing it into its box and placing it in the refrigerator. There is a backup cake in there as well, prepared and frosted but not yet decorated, just in case Finnick meets with trouble of some sort bringing the completed cake up to the church. I take my time cleaning up the kitchen, knowing I'll be back down here baking cookies and croissants early tomorrow morning before getting myself wedding-ready in the afternoon.

Finally clomping up the stairs, I get ready for bed, stretching out on the futon. Sleep eludes me, though. I toss and turn, fluff up my pillow a couple times trying to get comfortable, and nearly jump out of my skin when my text alert beeps.

[Katniss] Can't sleep?

[Peeta] No, of course not.

[Katniss] Me either. The cake done?

[Peeta] Yep. You're gonna love it.

[Katniss] I can't wait. Dr. Aurelius said congratulations today when I saw him.

Dr. Aurelius officially discharged me from his care a couple weeks ago, but asked for Katniss to continue seeing him for awhile longer, to which we both readily agreed.

[Peeta] That was nice. Is it strange that I miss seeing him?

[Katniss] No, not strange.

[Peeta] That's good.

[Katniss] Delly made me get my fingernails and toenails painted tonight after we left. It felt weird.

I immediately burst out laughing. Of course Delly would insist on Katniss getting some sort of girly pampering done before the wedding. I'm just surprised she actually agreed to go along with it.

[Peeta] I'm sure they look beautiful.

[Katniss] If you say so.

[Peeta] I know so.

[Katniss] Okay. We should probably try to sleep. See you tomorrow?

[Peeta] Absolutely

[Katniss] Goodnight, Peeta

[Peeta] I love you. Just think, after tonight we won't have to text each other goodnight anymore.

[Katniss] I can't wait. Sleep well.

I can't wait either.

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."

My future starts tomorrow, at 6pm.

Biblical Reference:

Jeremiah 29:11

Next chapter is the wedding! Be sure to leave me a review! :)