Madge was a machine.

She could sit in front of stacks of paper and analyze them one by one, painstakingly highlighting everything of remote importance for hours on end. However, when we neared eight hours of research, I decided that we should probably call it quits for the day.

"Madge, I think we've done all we can today. My eyes literally can't tolerate another earning report." I stretched my arms above my head and yawned. I was exhausted. This whole project, while it was worth every bit of energy we were pouring into it, was mentally and physically draining. And while any other day I would be fine subjecting myself to the corporate torture, I wanted to be prepared for tonight. My reconciliatory outing with Peeta was bound to be something I needed to be sharp for. With him, it took all of my nerve endings in full attention in order to behave properly. "I don't know how you enjoy this stuff so much."

She shuffled the forms in front of her into neat stacks, adding paperclips periodically. "This is my sanctuary." Her kind smile lit her entire face. "Numbers, analytics, it's all so clean. You can find answers in numbers. You can find solutions in formulas. I live for problem solving."

I grabbed my worn brown leather messenger bag off the back of my chair and headed towards the door, Madge trailing close behind. "Is that why you stick around this place? I mean, you're probably more qualified than I am to be running this company. Why do you bother being my assistant?" I pulled the glass door shut and sent a quick text to Thresh and let him know I was on my way down. I had really been forgetting about his constant presence lately. He was much quieter than Gale had ever been.

Madge pushed her glasses up the ridge of her nose. I took a moment to look over her features. She was by most standards a typical bookworm. Her curly blonde hair was swept up into a tight bun atop her head, with a pencil holding it in place. Her eyes were wide an innocent, but held this look of infinite wisdom behind them. "It's because of your father, actually." I stopped walking and looked at her. She lowered her voice slightly before continuing. "I would have never made it to college if it weren't for this company's scholarship fund."

I knew what she was talking about. The 'Seam Student Foundation' offered one high school student from my father's hometown an all tuition paid scholarship to the school of their choice each year. It was his way of giving back to the town that had raised him. "My parents, they... They died when I was young, and I was sent to live with my aunt Maysilee- who didn't exactly have the means to take care of her recently orphaned niece. And like most people in Seam, we lived paycheck to paycheck, with little hope of ever getting out of it. But I knew that I wanted something bigger- something better. Your dad, by giving me the scholarship, gave me a chance at a life- a real one. So I guess what I'm saying is, I owe my education and the life I know now to the kindness of your father."

I kept my mouth shut. Madge had been working so closely with me for all these years and I had no idea that she was from Seam. "So for as long as I'm needed here, I will offer my services. And I'll do what I can to protect the integrity of this company."

The elevator dinged and signaled its arrival, but I remained wordless.

If I still had a job after this board meeting, Madge was getting a promotion.

I almost wished that I would have walked home after stepping out into the early summer air. The temperature was nearly perfect, accentuated by my comfortable clothing. Although running the risk of being seen in this outfit and landing on tonight's E! Worst Dressed list might not be worth it, I was just getting sick of the indoors. Being cooped up inside of an office, or in a tight designer dress, or in between some social-climbing New York society event was just stifling.

I longed for those summer days in Westchester, when all I needed was my boom box set to some tragic boy band blaring in the backyard while I practiced archery for hours on end. Back when Prim and our mother would tend to the vegetable garden (to donate fresh food to the local homeless shelter) and tease me because I never quite developed my green thumb. Those days where it took all of my self-restraint not to "accidentally" let my arrow slip and hit Prim's despicable little cat, Buttercup. I missed my dad's joyous voice when he called all of his girls into the house for a dinner he had cooked.

I missed having a family.

But those days were long gone. My mother was probably off in LA somewhere with Snow, Prim was Being alone could only be tolerable for so long before you broke. Of course, I didn't quite know where I was in terms of cracking, but it didn't seem so far off. Especially not with the recent developments in my personal life that ended up chasing away the people I cared about the most. And my only real family located on the other side of the country.

"Are you alright, Katniss?" Thresh handed me a tissue from the center console, before I had even realized that I was crying.

I wiped my tears quickly, embarrassed by my slip. "Yeah, I'm fine, Thresh. Sorry about that."

He nodded solemnly and turned back towards the road. I was grateful for his silence. Thresh was a vision of the stereotypical bodyguard; strong, tall- a vision of solitude. One thing I had grown to understand about him was his quiet sensitivity. Somehow, he could always sense when I needed something or someone, and was perfectly willing to listen to me babble… or just sit there. He was a man of few words. Capitol Security really had found the perfect replacement for an emotional head case like me. "It's just, sometimes; I really wish Primmy was here. I miss her."

The car was silent for a beat.

"I have a little sister who's away at school too." I didn't know that. As far as I knew, Thresh was an only child, he didn't have a mother and father, didn't have a wife or girlfriend- he was just my protector; a pillar of strength, otherwise unattached to the world. But after listening to Madge this morning, it was quickly becoming apparent how little I knew about the people around me. "Her name's Rue."

"Really? I didn't know that." I blew my nose into the tissue rather loudly. He was used to such antics by now.

"Yeah, she just turned 19. She an environmental studies major at Brown. The girl has always had this crazy need to save the world." I could see the pride of his little sister filling his features. He wasn't one to ever say more than the exact amount necessary, so I didn't dare interrupt him, for fear that he wouldn't continue. "She's the only family I got. That's why I'm working here, though. Not that I don't like it, because it's good work. But, I'm sending her to school. Financial aid only carries you so far, you know?"

"But what I'm saying is I know how it feels to give it all up for someone you love. Going home to an empty apartment at the end of the day is hard. But we do it because we want the best for them. We do it because we're the only thing standing between making something of our family's name and letting it all waste away. It takes a lot of strength to do that, Katniss. You're a very strong woman."

The car pulled right up to the curb in front of my flat and Thresh got out to open the passenger side door for me. Without giving him a chance to protest, I threw my arms around his neck quickly. He didn't exactly respond, but that was okay. Before letting him go, I lifted myself to his ear level. "You're strong too."

I whispered the closest thing to a thank you that I could manage. When I released him just a moment later, I saw a lone tear slip from his eye. He offered me a quick smile before resuming his occupational duties. "What time would you like me here to pick you up this evening, ma'am?"

I straightened myself up, trying to resemble someone who had it together again. "Seven o'clock will be just fine, thank you, Thresh." That gave me about two hours before I needed to meet with Peeta. And I was going to need every moment to gather myself.

He silently nodded again, climbing back into the car and heading off in the opposite direction. I stood on the sidewalk, watching the car disappear before heading up the huge concrete stoop that led to my apartment building. "Jeez, watch it, Brainless." Johanna huffed and stood up, brushing off her yoga pants. I hadn't even noticed her laying across my steps, until I nearly stepped on her.

"Johanna, what are you even doing here?" I asked, taking a step in backwards.

"That's a good question, and I've been asking myself the same thing for the past hour." She rolled her eyes and huffed. I wasn't in the mood for her attitude right then. I brushed past her and headed towards the door.

"Well let me know when you figure it out." She caught up to me and grabbed my arm, stopping me from entering the building.

"Kat, stop. Listen, you know I'm not good with this sentimental garbage, so it would make things a lot easier if you would just chill out for a second. You're always so on-edge about everything." Jo reached up and swiped her bangs out of her eyes. Her hair was growing out again, for the first time since she'd stopped Olympic training. She had always kept her hair short and manageable for the triathlons, but now since she'd stopped, I guess it didn't matter as much. "I just, I want to apologize, okay? I want to say sorry about the way I blew up the other day. Hell, the way I've been a ticking time bomb for the past few months."

She slipped down to sit back on the steps, wrapping her arms around her knees. I sat next to her, careful not to sit too close. Jo barely liked physical contact under the best of circumstances, it was probably best to let her continue without the added pressure of having to reciprocate emotion.

"I know that it's not an excuse, but after I bombed the trials for 2016, I just, I guess I just lost it. So I'm sorry for being such a shitty friend to you. I've been taking all of my frustrations out on one of the only people who can still tolerate me, and that's not cool." Jo looked up at me for the first time since beginning her spiel and for the first time in our friendship, I saw vulnerability.

Even in April when she suffered from a traumatic incident at the Auckland, New Zealand qualifier, she seemed to have it all together. When she told her manager that she was going into a very early retirement, she didn't shed a tear. Never once did she waver in her decision, even though I knew that it was the hardest choice she ever made. Jo had completed three runs in the Olympics by the time she turned 25. She had dedicated her entire life to the sport, even racing in the junior elite division when we met in high school.

But after a lifetime of record-breaking athletic feats, she had choked. At the last race she participated in, she had a panic attack in the water, nearly causing her to drown. It took five medics and weeks of therapy for her to even get back into the bath tub. Ever since, she'd been struggling to stay afloat.

"Jo, we can fix this, you know. You don't have to stop racing."

Her green eyes flashed, unsure of how to take that comment. "Katniss, this isn't about the Olympics! I gave that up, okay? I gave it up, and now I'm just a normal Joe- trying my damnest to be a good friend." She stood up again, running a hand through her hair. "I can't race again even if I wanted to, okay? The ITU circuit is cutthroat and I'm an old woman compared to them now. I'll be almost 30 by the time the next Olympics rolls around."

"Johanna Mason? Scared of a little competition?" I stood next to her and elbowed her in the ribs.

"Everdeen, can you just accept my apology? That way we can both go back to our lives of effectively ignoring everything that hurts even remotely."

"We're not doing that anymore, Jo. We're going to face this head on. It's time for both of us to stop sweeping everything under the rug and hoping that it'll just fix itself- because it won't. We have responsibilities and very big jobs to do. You can keep running away from the issue, but the fact is, you need this." I pointed my finger at her chest. "You need one last go round in the ring before you hang up your gloves for good. And I," I pointed at myself "owe this to my dad. Hell, I owe it to me, to be successful. We're gonna get through this together, Mason. I swear to you.

We're gonna get through this together."

After all of the emotional revelations of the day, by the time I returned to my bedroom, I was exhausted. I just couldn't face the idea of putting on a happy face, slipping into another uncomfortable outfit, and going out to eat with Peeta. So I made the executive decision to text my car cancellation to Thresh and call Peeta and break the news to him. It wasn't that I didn't want to see him, necessarily, but the fact of the matter was simple- I just couldn't take it.

"Katniss, what a pleasant surprise it is to hear your voice. I didn't think you'd be calling me before dinner."

"You'll probably be reconsidering those words here pretty soon, Peeta. I am calling to take a rain check on dinner tonight. I'm just not feeling up to it." I coughed into the phone for good measure, just in case he doubted my sincerity. Not that it sounded all the genuine either.

"Oh, you're under the weather? That's totally fine. Make sure you get some rest, alright? We wouldn't want to have to postpone your shoot or anything. I'll talk to you later." I said a quick goodbye to him and silently cursed myself for lying. What did I hope to accomplish like that anyway?

I took his advice, though, and fell back onto my king sized bed. It was one of the few changes to my home that I actually liked. My apartment was furnished primarily for a Good Housekeeping ruse. That did a piece on 'Famous Flats' a few months ago, and Effie insisted on redoing my entire loft to make it more commercially presentable. She had all of my vintage, wooden furniture replaced in lieu of more modern, icy look. I didn't particularly hate the new décor, but I much preferred the comfort of my own property. And with everything going on, I just hadn't found the time to replace the new stuff.

I kicked off my tennis shoes and sprawled out on my bed, clicking on the oversized plasma screen above my dresser. An episode of Fashion Police was on E! and Joan Rivers was taking jabs at Madonna's outfit at the Met Gala (which I personally had told her looked quite fitting when we passed each other on the red carpet). I flicked through the stations and settled on an old black and white film with Humphrey Bogart.

I must have drifted off, because when I looked out my window, night had fallen on the city. Rain was gently beating against the window pane, which had probably pulled me even deeper into my sleep. My phone –the noise that snapped me awake- was buzzing incessantly on my end table. I picked it up and read the caller ID.

"Hello, Peeta? What's going on?" I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and checked the clock next to my bed. It was 9:10, which meant that my nap had been longer than intended.

"Hey Katniss, you said you weren't feeling well so I brought you something to help out. I mean, since it was probably the stress of my undue social behavior that has brought this and all." He laughed lightly. "Anyways, I'm almost to your block, so could you buzz me up?"

"Uh er, uh yeah sure. Bye." I hung up the phone and looked around frantically. I wasn't at home enough for my apartment to ever get that dirty, but it certainly wasn't clean. And I wasn't looking much better. My outfit was severely lacking in terms of sex appeal (and relative cleanliness), and one quick glance in the mirror told me that my hair was an absolute disaster. The braid that had been there before my nap, was barely visible, considering the amount of frizz and loose strands that framed my face. After going into the office so early this morning, I hadn't even considered putting on makeup.

I rushed through the bedroom, shoving wayward clothes under the bed and throwing stray heels into the walk-in closet, haphazardly. I took about fifteen second to rebraid my hair, rush out of the room and do another quick once-over of the kitchen and living room. Gale obviously hadn't bothered to wash the dishes he used for breakfast, but there was no time for that; because within seconds, Peeta was signaling for me to let him up.

There was just no winning with this guy.

Hope you all enjoyed this little chapter! It was both fun and kind of taxing to write. Luckily, it seems like our girl Katniss is back on track (aside from with Peeta, she just can't get it together when it comes to him haha) and her relationships are en route to repair. If you haven't noticed yet, this isn't exactly the most romantic of all Everlark fics, but I think Katniss' own insecurities and self-exploration needs a lot of focus in this particular story. Stay tuned for more updates- and as usual, I'd love to hear what you think (: