A/N: SO sorry this took so long guys! Internets been down and this had to be done on my iPhone so it may not be my best work, but you guys deserved amother chapter! :)

Chapter 16

For the whole two days before the party, Katniss and Gale slept like shit.

Every time Katniss would begin to drift off, nightmares of Peacekeepers taking her baby would make her shiver with fear as she curled into her husband. Gale's were all the same.

She and Gale would only leave Keegan with Peeta, Haymitch, or Effie. Effie was the only one of the group who didn't really know what was going on, but she heeded Gale's strict warning about not letting Keegan out of her sight. Katniss was glad Peeta had begun to let up on his advances. While they were subtle, they were annoying, and she knew Gale could rip Peeta apart with his bear hands... And he would, too.

The day of the speech and party, Katniss and Gale got ready at different times so one of them could always be with the baby. Cinna took Katniss just after breakfast, and she kissed Gale's cheek before letting the two of them sleep in.

She walked down the hall, holding Cinna's hand and willing herself to be strong. Cinna knew everything, probably more than Katniss did. When she felt herself start to break down at the thought of pleasing Capitolites that she hated, of facing Snow, she'd simply squeeze Cinna's hand and he'd squeeze back his support. Knowing they couldn't speak of what was going on (because of the eyes and ears nearby), this was the next best thing.

Because this was to be a very formal event, Cinna told Katniss that Gale was to be dressed in a sharp looking tuxedo. Katniss smiled at the thought of Gale being so handsome while Cinna brought out the bag with her dress.

"I thought maybe the Girl on Fire wanted to make an impression again?"

She smiled, "just what did you have in mind?"

...

An hour later, Gale rose to fix a bottle for his crying daughter. He smiled as he took the now 10 month old in his arms. Today was her birthday, of sorts, and the party tonight was for her, kind of. Gale grimaced when he thought of how many people would want to be near her, and stuck tight to his list of the five people who could hold her. He counted them in his head: Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, Effie, and Cinna. Good, he thought. They'd keep her safe if he couldn't.

As Keegan sucked her breakfast down, Gale started to sing. Katniss wanted Keegan to have a voice like she and her father, and Gale shared the wish. He loved Katniss's voice so much that Keegan's bedtime was often the best part of his day.

As he dressed her lightly, because Cinna would change their clothing later, Peeta knocked lightly on the door.

"Good morning. Mind if I have a word?"

Gale stiffened. He wasn't the idiot Katniss took him for. He knew this man had been trying his wife. He also knew Katniss was loyal to him, and that's why he hadn't said anything. Well that, and they were all on the same side for Keegan's safety.

"Sure, Mellark," Gale said, hoping the last name would serve as some sort of intimidation.

"Okay, I just spoke to Effie about tomorrow's agenda.." Peeta was pale, he looked very nervous for some reason. "You three have a meeting with Snow tomorrow before we leave."

Gale nodded as Peeta spoke. He'd known this was coming but– "What? The THREE of us?"

Gale hadn't been planning on that.

"Yes... I tried to tell Effie to make up some reason Keegan couldn't, but she had tried that herself and said Snow wouldn't hear of it. This is bad, Gale."

Gale swore so loudly that Keegan started to cry. He picked her up and kissed her head before giving her a toy and her pacifier. Peeta continued.

"Katniss doesn't know yet. And she won't be told what I'm going to tell you. This is dangerous, Gale. If one little thing goes wrong in this meeting, it could be bad for us." His eyes motioned to a corner of the room worriedly, and Gale understood Peeta was afraid of who'd be watching. "We don't want bad publicity. So keep your head."

He kissed Keegan and left the room. Gale held his daughter close, suddenly very afraid.

...

The night passed as the others before had. Katniss was a vision of beauty in her pure white ball gown, and Gale was a stunning match beside her, but no one paid a lot of attention to them. Keegan stole the show with the matching tutu Cinna had given her. Everyone at the party wanted a picture with her, and they all were refused by Gale when they asked to hold her. The Capitol women didn't care for this, happily squeezing Gale in the picture too. Katniss had crossed her arms at this, but had let it go when Gale would kiss her after every picture.

Katniss have her speech, everyone ate cake and took pictures, and before they knew it they were back in bed singing Keegan to sleep.

Cinna had broke the news of the meeting to Katniss, and she had pushed it from her mind as best she could. She had no intention of letting the bastard touch her daughter, and she knew Gale didn't either.

They slept wearily, with Keegan in between them. They held each other's hands and stared into each other's eyes rather than trying to speak. Tears flowed from Katniss's eyes at the thought of losing this man and the girl between them. But Gale's jaw set the entire night knowing what Katniss was thinking—and he wouldn't ever let that happen.

When Effie came to wake them, she took in the dark circles under their eyes. She tried to smile and failed miserably before crossing the room to hug Katniss. "It will be okay dear. You both survived the games. Nothing can be worse than that."

Gale choked, thinking of the only thing he could lose that would hurt him more than losing Katniss.

They had breakfast brought to their room and ate as a family before walking the hall together.

Haymitch went with them, walking alongside Katniss. Before they went in, he pulled a flask from his jacket, "Be good, sweetheart."

She took the door knob and walked in. The smell of roses and blood made Gale gag at the same time she did. Keegan sneezed and giggled at herself before sneezing again.

"Good morning, Mr and Mrs. Hawthorne. I'm President Snow."

They mumbled good morning and sat in the leather chairs in front of the desk.

"Now," the snake said as he turned around, "seems we have a problem."

Katniss tightened her grip on Keegan. "Do we?"

Snow tapped his fingers, growing impatient. "Yes. See, Mrs. Hawthorne, apparently you can't stay out of trouble. And that is a problem. I have decided upon a solution as well."

Gale gripped his seat harder, knuckles turning white.

"Because of your...setbacks in the games and since then, we are experiencing the flames of a rebellion. This will simply not do. We have given you opportunity to fix the problem and you just can't."

He smiled at her, "And since your actions were fueled by your love of your fine daughter here, maybe if she was gone, you'd have no reason to be difficult."

Gale and Katniss both stiffened before Gale snarled, "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, Mr. Hawthorne, your daughter is going to die. And if your wife can't fix this, you will too."

Gale rose from his seat and flexed protectively in front of his family, ready to protect them. "I'd love to see you fucking TRY."

Snow smiled at the couple's distress. "Then let things escalade. You'll be surprised. You're dismissed."

Peacekeepers escorted them to a waiting Haymitch.

He led them to a room in the opposite direction from their room. He went into a plain grey room and locked the door. "This is a safe room. What happened?"

Gale explained the brief conversation while Katniss held tight to Keegan. When he finished, Haymitch took another drink. He pressed his hand to an earpiece, "Did you get all that?"

Gale looked at Katniss, clearly confused, and back to Haymitch, who held up a finger while he got his instructions.

He smiled, "Today is your lucky day, kiddos. We have a hovercraft waiting in 12. And we are going to 13 tonight."

Katniss looked at him like he was crazy. "Haymitch. You're drunker than you think. There is no 13."

He smiled. "That's just what you think, sweetheart."