A/N: Ha ha! Yay, I got Part Three done! Like I said in Part Two, I probably won't be able to post this tomorrow so I decided I'd give you guys a gift and give you the last part of this story! I hope you guys like it! Thanks to all those who have favorited and followed the story so far! Ya'll are awesome. So without further adieu, here's the final segment to Old Friends in a New World.

Tallyho!

Part Three:

Katniss and Gale were sitting in the dining room in silence. Haymitch was in the living room with Sierra helping her with a puzzle while Peeta was upstairs trying to put Jace to sleep. Gale was struggling to look Katniss in the eye; all of the guilt he carried for what happened to Prim came flooding back to him as soon as he saw her and he couldn't bear to face her out of fear that he would break down. He was relieved, however, that she wasn't glaring at him. If anything, she seemed curious about her old friend. Finally, she broke the silence.

"You look older." she said.

Gale snorted. "That tends to happen over twenty years."

Katniss smirked. "You look good, though."

He smiled. "Thanks. You too."

The two were silent again. "So… what are you doing home early? Peeta said you wouldn't be back until Sunday."

She shrugged. "I missed my family. I like 4 and I love my mom but I wanted to come home. So I did."

Gale chuckled. "You preferred the coal dust to the sea air?"

"Always." she said as she gave him a small smile as she looked out into the living room towards her daughter. Sierra smiled and waved at her mom before going back to the puzzle with Haymitch. Gale smiled at Katniss who seemed full of love for her little girl.

"Your daughter looks just like you." he said.

She nodded. "She has Peeta's eyes though."

"Yes, but your son has yours."

She nodded again. "They got the best of both of us, I guess."

It was silent between them again before Gale broke the silence.

"Katniss, I am so sorry for what happened to Prim." he said, before he could stop himself. "I still don't know if it was one of my bombs that killed her but I feel responsible nonetheless. I will never forgive myself for the pain I put you and your mother through after she died. I loved her like a sister but I was blindsided by the war and she ended up in danger because of me. I'm so sorry."

Gale put his head in his hands as he choked back a sob. As he tried to keep himself composed, he felt a soft hand grab one of his as another tilted his chin up so he could face her.

"Gale," she said softly, "Thank you for your apology. I appreciate it. But I forgave you years ago."

Gale looked at her confused. "W-what? When? Why didn't you ever call me?"

"I tried so many times, Gale. Believe me, I did. But every time I picked up the phone, I just kept imagining that you would hang up on me or that we would just start arguing and not get anywhere. Eventually, I just lost my nerve and hoped that you would one day forgive yourself as I had forgiven you."

Gale wanted to be angry but he was so relieved that Katniss had forgiven him, that he didn't care. He gave her a weak smile which she returned. "What caused you to forgive me?" he asked.

Katniss looked back at her daughter and smiled. "Sierra. When she was born, I thought about how happy Prim would've been to be an aunt. As she got older, I began to see so much of Prim in her that I realized that even if Prim wasn't here with me anymore, I had someone who reminded me of her but was her own person as well." She was beginning to tear up. "I miss my sister but I love my little girl. She's everything Prim could've been and more. She makes me stronger. All of them do."

Gale squeezed her hand as she wiped her tears away. Katniss took a deep breath as she released her hand from Gale's to run her fingers through her hair. "So what are you doing back in 12?" she asked.

Gale sighed. "I wanted to stop by and see how things were these days. I missed my old home. And I secretly hoping to see you to maybe patch things up."

She nodded but he could tell that she knew there was more to his story. "Why now? It's been years, Gale. Why not come earlier? What's going on now that made you want to come back?"

He hesitated before answering. "I met someone."

Katniss looked surprised but a smile quickly grew on her face. "Really? What's her name?"

Gale smiled as he thought of his green-eyed sweetheart back in 2. "Her name's Rebecca. She's a teacher at one of the schools in 2. We met a couple years ago through mutual friends…" he hesitated before continuing. "W-we're getting married next June."

Katniss' smile faded as she looked puzzled. "Gale Hawthorne is getting married. Never thought I'd hear that sentence come out of my mouth."

"Well I never thought I'd hear the words 'Katniss Everdeen' and 'mother' in the same sentence either." he retorted.

Katniss snorted. "Touche."

Gale smiled. "Anyway, part of the reason why I came back down was I was hoping that you and your family would come up for the wedding. Haymitch is invited too, of course. But I'd really love for Rebecca to meet you. I think you'd like her; she's just as stubborn as you are. So what do you say? Wanna see your old best friend get married?"

Katniss smiled and chuckled. "I'd love to meet her. And I would love to be there for you. We all would. We'll be there."

He gave her a thankful smile. "Thanks, Catnip." He looked at the clock on the wall. "I should go." he said as he stood up with Katniss following. "My train leaves early tomorrow."

Katniss nodded as she walked him to the door. As Gale said goodbye to Sierra and Haymitch, Peeta came out of the kitchen with a small basket full of different types of breads. "For the ride home." he said smiling.

Gale smiled and thanked him heartily. As Katniss walked him out of the house, she stopped him on the porch steps and gave him a hug. Gale couldn't help but sigh in relief as he held his best friend, thankful that they had patched everything up.

"Don't be a stranger, okay?" Katniss said as they pulled out of the hug. "Stay in touch."

"You too." he said smiling. "See you in June?"

"See you in June." she said as she walked back into her house.

As Gale went back to the house he was staying at, he couldn't help but smile the entire way. His trip had gone way better than planned. He patched things up with Katniss, repaired his strained relationship with Peeta and even met their wonderful family. Gale felt like for the first time in over twenty years he could breathe freely. He took a deep breath and laughed as he enjoyed this new feeling of freedom. As his life would be changing in the best way soon, he was glad that he had some old friends to help him stay sane through it all. Thank God for old friends in a new world.

The End.