I find Madge sitting in the meadow, by the fence with her back to me. She turns when I tread on a stick, and I notice that she's crying. She quickly tries to wipe her eyes but it's too late. I go over to her and sit down beside her. "What's up?" I ask her. She shakes her head and looks away. "Madge?" I say "What's wrong?" When I plant a kiss on her head, the sobs she's been withholding escape her lips. "Oh god, what have I done?" I say. She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Nothing," she says through her tears "it's my fault."

I frown "What is?" Madge shakes her head again.

"I- I can't tell you, Gale. I don't know how you'll take it," she stammers

I am genuinely clueless "I can handle it," I tell her "whatever it is."

"I don't know if you can," she replies. I put my arm around her and she crumples hopelessly.

"Come on, it can't be that bad," I say

"I don't know, Gale. I'm so confused."

"Just tell me already!" I sigh

"I-I think... I think that I'm..." Madge trails off, but she doesn't need to finish her sentence.

"Pregnant?" I ask with a frown. She nods. This isn't happening. How can this be happening? It was one time! Oh god, I'm barely nineteen, Madge isn't even seventeen yet. We're going to be parents. No, this cannot be happening. "You think, or you know?" I ask

"I'm ninety-nine percent sure," She tells me

"And it's definitely mine?" I ask. The more selfish part of me wants her to say no, so I can just slip out of her life right now, but I know that I was Madge's first. She told me.

"Of course it's yours, Gale!" she sobs "Who else in this fucking district have I slept with?"

I shake my head. "No. This is a mistake. You're not pregnant. It's just a mistake."

"Stop it!" Madge yells "This is real, Gale. This is happening." I stand up and start pacing. "Just because you keep saying that it isn't happening doesn't make it true!"

"I know! I'm... I'm just not ready. I'm so fucking scared, and way too young to be dealing with this kind of shit!" Madge stands up, her face flushed with anger.

"Our baby is not shit, Gale!" She screams at me, and I immediately regret the words.

"Madge, I...that's not what I meant. I'm just so scared. I'm not good with kids," I say

"And you know what happens when our kid turns twelve," Madge half sits, half falls to the ground. I go to her side and kneel down next to her. She's hunched over, sitting on her heels with her hands flat on the ground, her head resting on them. I hold her, stroking her hair and whispering comforting things to her. Finally she sits up and pushes her long, blonde curls out of her face. I look straight into her bright blue eyes, which are red from crying. "Go," she says "go home. Forget about me. I can do this on my own."

"Madge-," I begin, but she interrupts.

"No, Gale. You don't deserve this; go and find a beautiful seam girl. Take your second chance."

"Madge, you are not going to do this alone. I'm going to be here for you. Always. This isn't going to be easy, but we'll get through it together. I am never leaving you, ever. Understand?" I say

"Gale, I don't think that-." Now it's my turn to interrupt.

"Marry me," I say before I really think about it.

"I-I-," she stutters but I carry on talking.

"We can go now, to the Justice Building, we can get married. Then later we can have a toasting."

"My father won't let me," Madge says simply.

"I'm eighteen," I say quickly "If I tell them not to say anything then they can't tell him."

"He'd find out. So would your mother."

"Life would carry on as normal. You wouldn't even have to change your name. Please, Madge! I want to do this with you. I want to call you my wife," I plead. She puts her head in her hands. "What do you say?"

"It's so much to think about, Gale," Madge sighs.

"Then just say yes!" Madge stays hunched for about five minutes. Finally though, after what feels like forever, she sits up. Then she nods.

"Okay, fine. I'll marry you," Madge smiles. I go to kiss her but she moves back. "On one condition." I raise my eyebrows. "You have to get down on one knee and propose properly."

"I don't have a ring," I tell her.

"Doesn't matter, if you gave me a ring people would know that we were engaged," she replies.

I sigh. Madge stands up and I kneel on one knee. I want to make this really special. But I'm not Peeta Mellark. He won the Hunger Games through smooth talking, whereas I can't string a sentence together in situations like this. I take a deep breath and begin.

"Madge, ever since I first sold you strawberries, I thought that you were the most beautiful girl in the world. You look like an angel." She blushes. "I'm not the best at explaining my feelings, so I hide them. It might have seemed like I hated you each time I visited, but I was only trying to stop how really felt about you from showing. I love you, Madge, ten times more than I did then. I want this baby with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Madge Undersee, will you marry me?" I smile. That was quite good really. Madge seems to agree. Either that or it was terrible because she's in floods of tears. "How did I do?" I ask.

"You...you did great. Yes, Gale, I will marry you." And finally, she lets me kiss her.

P.S- set in between Hunger games and Catching Fire, about 3 weeks after Katniss and Peeta come home.