Summary: Annie bakes cookies at the Mellarks with Peeta and Rosy, until Katniss gets home with her close friends. However, Finnick had not warned Annie the extent of what it means to be in a room with Peeta Mellark.

Notes: A huge huge huge huge thank you to my beta, jeniezee, for all her wonderful, hard work as usual :D and to for-prim, for being just an awesome friend and giving me advice :)

Present

Annie is the one to drive everyone home from the Boschs' apartment building. Finnick is still in too much of a state of shock to be able to drive safely. He unfurls in the passenger seat, feet on the dashboard as his hands twist the drawstrings of his sweatshirt into intricate knots. Every now and then, his eyes would dart up and stare blankly out the front window. The swish of the window wipers is the only noise inside the car.

"Rosy, what do you usually do on Christmas Eve with your parents?" Annie breaks the silence as she comes to a stop at a red light.

"Hm? Oh Daddy and I bake cookies for Santa while Mommy hums along to the radio. She's not a good a baker like daddy so she isn't really in the kitchen much. After all the cookies are baked, we have dinner and watch TV and then I go to bed early so I can catch Santa when he comes."

"Sounds like a fun day."

"You should come bake with me and Daddy! Mommy is going to get her friends from the airport so Daddy and I will be alone. Daddy isn't allowed to be alone with us even with Brutus there."

"Brutus? You mean your dog?" Annie asks, as she turns onto their street.

"Peeta's got a condition," Finnick says, straightening up in his seat, "If Katniss is going to be out, it's better if someone's there with him. Just in case. Normally, she'd have me or Johanna sit in with him."

"But Annie hasn't tried Daddy's cookies before, so Annie should be the one to do it!" Rosy exclaims.

"Is that okay with you, Finnick? You don't mind?" Annie reaches her hand out to him, resting it gently on his thigh.

"Not at all," he smiles, squeezing her hand. "I could use some… time to myself."

"Call if you need anything, please." Annie parks the car in the tiny strip that is the Odair-Mason household driveway. Finnick brings her hand to his lips and kisses the wool that surrounds it.

"I'll be fine. You have fun." His smile stretches warily.

"Promise you'll call."

"It really is sexy when you use your teacher voice," Finnick growls.

"Ewww! Daddy, you're being gross," Noah whines as he unbuckles his seat belt from the booster seat. Then he helps Rosy with hers while his father's laughter fills the car and a blush covers Annie's entire face.

"I'm home," Rosy's voice trills as she walks in the door. A variety of smells waft through Annie's nose as she follows in behind her, they become stronger the closer Annie is to the kitchen.

The Mellark household is not very big even for a town house. However everything is open concept making the narrow hallways and small rooms look larger than it is. It is quaint, and feels to be the perfect size to raise a family. Annie cannot help but smile.

Peeta pokes his head out into the hallway, greeting them with a smile, "Good afternoon, Annie."

"Afternoon."

"Did Rosy convince you to join us?"

"More or less," Annie says, patting the little girl on the head. "Oh, Rosy, your hair's still wet. You should go dry it."

Rosy squirms away from Annie's touch and shakes her head, "It'll dry in the kitchen."

"Sweetie pie, you'll catch a cold tomorrow if you don't dry your hair. Santa might not come if you get sick," Peeta warns. Like any child, the topic of no Santa Claus frightens her considerably. Rosy's legs rush her up the winding stairs and onto the second floor where she screams for her mother to dry her hair.

The room falls into a comfortable silence as Peeta turns around and opens the oven. The fresh scent of ginger lingers in the air and makes Annie's nose wrinke. Over his shoulder, she can see the ginger cookies are shaped into little people of all different sizes.

"Those are absolutely adorable," Annie coos as she comes to take a closer look. It is as if Peeta tried to give gender to the little people as well since some had skirts over top of their legs while others had pants.

Peeta chuckles, "They're Rosy's favourite. She insists on leaving them out for Santa every year."

"She likes to let Santa know she loves her family and she hopes he delivers presents to everyone, right?" Annie smiles down at the two cookie sheets with eight people on each tray. They are arranged so that two men, two women, one little girl and two little boys lay rest on each set of foil.

"She told you?"

"I was the one that helped her spell 'deliver' on the assignment," Annie looks up at Peeta, then back down at the cookies. "Why is there an extra of ever cookie except the little girl?"

"That's our whooollle family," Rosy says as she bounces into the room and steps onto her tip toes to see the cooling cookies. Scooping her up in his arms, Peeta gives her a bird's eye view of the little people. "There is Daddy, Mommy, Me and Aidyn. Then there is Noah, Uncle Finnick and Auntie Jo because they're family too, right Daddy?"

"Right, Pumpkin," Peeta nuzzles his cheek into her dry, brown hair, tied into a braided bun on top of her head. "Hm, you smell yummier than the kitchen. Did Mommy wash your hair too?"

"Yeah," Rosy nods as Peeta puts her down. "Mommy's in the shower now. When she's done she's going to go get her friends then we can all eat cookies together before Santa comes!"

Annie giggles. It is because of children like Rosy that she decided to get into teaching. They light up the entire room with their smiles and laughter even if they were uncooperative, stubborn little devils only moments before.

She watches as Rosy twirls in her velvet dress and thick, white stockings around the kitchen table before deciding to sit down. "Can we ice the gingerbreads yet?"

"I just took them out; it'll be a little while before we can do that. How about you find another recipe to make in the meantime?" Peeta suggests, causing his daughter's bright blue eyes to grow with excitement. Annie watches as Peeta hobbles over to the kitchen table and sits down carefully. A rather stiff looking leg fans out first while the more flexible one guides him onto the chair.

Annie tries hard not to stare at the stretched out leg. But in the two years that she has been teaching Rosy, and in those two years that she has seen Peeta, not once has he limped like he did moments ago. Catching herself staring, she glances up to see that Peeta has caught her as well. The careful smile on his lips ebbs some of her embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," she mumbles, her eyes flickering to her hands.

"It's alright," Peeta says, patting her folded hands gently. The clicking of claws against tile distracts Annie and Peeta from one another. Brutus is a lot bigger than Annie had imagined. He is a brown and black German Sheppard that strides into the room with the demeanor of a sleepy puppy before curling up atop of Peeta's feet.

"Okay, I'm heading off. I should be no longer than a couple hours. Knowing Gale, they're probably checked into their hotel by now," Katniss says, straightening her forest green sweatshirt as she joins them in the kitchen. "Peeta, I just put Aidyn down for a nap so he should be conked until I get back. No need to worry about him. Annie, if anything happens, please call Finnick. He'll know what to do, so don't worry."

"Take a deep breath, ma'am." Annie says, surprising Katniss. Peeta chuckles as Katniss inhales deeply. "I'm not worried, you're in good hands. Finnick would not have put me in this situation if he did not think I am capable of handling it."

"Alright," Katniss sighs. "I'll see you all soon then." Making her way around the tiny table she plants a kiss on her husband's cheek and then one on her daughter's forehead.

"Bye, Mommy!" Rosy stands up on her chair and waves, only to have Peeta wrap his arms around her and place her back in her seat. Katniss leaves with an unintentional slam of the door.

"So, Rosy, have you picked what you want to bake yet?" Peeta asks as he watches his daughter sift through pages upon pages but not actually reading the words. Rosy's eyebrows knit together as she flips pages faster and faster only to grow more and more frustrated.

"Annie, I can't find it! Can you help me look for them?" Rosy whines as flips all the way back to page one of the section.

"What am I looking for?"

"The sugar cookies Uncle Finnick likes," Rosy answers with a grin. "You love Uncle Finnick, right? I saw you kiss him like Mommy kisses Daddy sometimes. We should bake the cookies he likes best. Then you can give them to him." Annie face turns beet red as Peeta's soft blue eyes turn to her, dangerously.

"When did this happen, Rosy?" Peeta's voice stays even, with a hint of a surprised tone.

"Today, at the swimming pool when Uncle Finnick was looking really lost, like Daddy does sometimes. Annie kissed him like Mommy kisses you. He looked all happy afterwards," Rosy says, with a smile. However, it quickly fades as Peeta's face loses its cheer and his eyes cloud over. She recognizes the way the lines in his face tight and the slight hunch in his frame. Annie instinctively reaches out to him, to give him something to feel grounded to, like she had done all those years ago with her mother.

However, Brutus shifts first as he comes out into the open from under the table. Placing his front paws into Peeta's lap, Brutus nudges his nose into his hands. Gripping onto him tightly, the tension in Peeta's body loosens. Looking down at his dog, Peeta gives him a thorough petting before Brutus slinks back to his original napping position.

"Annie, the sugar cookies aren't in that book," Peeta's full smile returns. Opening up another book full of baked goods from across the table, Peeta finds the recipe on his first try. "How about you read out the ingredients and Rosy and I will find them?" Annie nods. She has a feeling Finnick did not realize the severity of Peeta's condition when he left her in charge.

"Now, in a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into butter mixture in 3 additions," Annie reads out the instructions for Rosy. She drops in a new set of ingredients every time Peeta turns off the mixer. After his short episode, he seems to be more cheerful, though infinitely more cautious. He keeps his distance from Rosy and makes sure Brutus is 'on duty' with his vest securely wrapped around his body.

"What next?"Rosy asks, peeking over into the book to see

"Wrap in cellophane and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour," Annie adds before closing the cover. Rosy groans.

"Patience, pumpkin. That's the secret to baking," Peeta taps her small, flat nose with his index finger. She wrinkles her nose before hoping out of her seat to get the box of saran wrap.

Even though there was no metal edge to the saran wrap box, Peeta insists on measuring out the appropriate length of plastic for the balls of dough. He has to peel away Rosy's tiny fingers as she begins to poke the wrapped dough.

"Can we frost the Gingerbread people now?!" Rosy sing-songs and twirls in her dress as Peeta puts the last of the dough in the fridge.

"Sure, they should be cool enough by now."

Rosy squeals in delight as she jumps back into her chair with the booster seat. "What kind of frosting are we going to make?"

"Already made it, sweetie," Peeta smiles as she pulls several small piping bags full of different coloured icing.

"You said we were going to do it together," she bottom lip juts out in a pout and her eyebrows knit together as she stares at the bags.

"I did say that, you're right. I'm sorry I did it without you. Will you forgive me?" Peeta leans in, his nose touches Rosy's. The muscles in her face relax as a smile stretches across her face while nodding her head.

"You'll make the sugar cookie icing with me right?"

"Course, pumpkin," Peeta kisses her nose pulling a giggle from her lips. He gives her a bag of pink vanilla icing, one that is much too large for her hands. Peeta brings both trays of cookies over to the table and places the little girl gingerbread onto a napkin in front of Rosy. Grasping her tiny hands, he helps her squeeze the icing around the edges of the gingerbread girl's skirt.

Memories suddenly flood back to Annie all at once. She remembers the last Christmas she shared with her whole family. How her father had smiled, just like Peeta, as he brought in the ornament boxes from the garage while he told a lame pun about how ornate the tree was going to be. Her brother had rolled his eyes before unraveling the lights from their spool and weaving them through the branches of the synthetic pine tree. Her mother and laughed genuinely and happily, with no sign of hysteria, at her boys. It had been the last Christmas Annie had felt warm. As she watches Peeta and Rosy, Annie can feel her heartstrings pull and her body grow cold. All the makeshift families she creates in this world can never replace the shattered one she lost.

Picking the cookies one by one off the tray, Annie leaves them on a plate before heading over to clean the kitchenware.

"Oh, Annie, you don't have to do that. I'll do it later. Come help," Peeta turns to her, offering her that fatherly smile.

"I don't mind. You have your moment with Rosy. It's important; you'll never get it back," she says, turning back to the sink filled with hot, soapy water. He will never get it back. By next Christmas, who knows what Rosy will be like? Would she still want to bake cookies with her Dad? Or would she rather sing with her Mom or play with Noah down the street. Either way, it is not something Annie wants Peeta to regret especially not in order to accommodate someone like her. A complete and utter stranger.

"Those look beautiful, Rosy. Nice work," Peeta gives her a squeeze. The little gingerbread families are fully decorated, littered with icing and sparkles, while the baked sugar cookies lay resting in their icing sugar frosting in the shapes of stars, Christmas trees and snowmen.

Her bright blue eyes twinkle as her warm, pink cheeks dimple with a smile and gives Peeta a hug back. "Can I go over and play with Noah then?"

"You just saw Noah this morning, aren't you tired of him?"

Rosy shakes her brown, braided head, "Nope! I could play with Noah all day and never get bored!"

Annie laughs lightly as Peeta sighs, defeated, "Alright. Wash your hands and I'll walk you over. Is that okay, Annie? I'll just be a few minutes."

"Of course. Take as much time as you need," she smiles, as she gathers the newly dirtied utensils and brings them over to the sink.

"No, I want Annie to take me! You need to tell Uncle Finnick we're baking him sugar cookies," Rosy continues to huff. Peeta looks down at her, bemused.

"Wouldn't it be better if we surprised him?"Annie counters. "I bet Finnick's surprised face would be funny."

Bouncing on the balls of her toes, Rosy rolls her eyes up, then giggles. "Uncle Finnick is very very loud when he is surprised. Auntie Jo tells him to … be quiet very meanly."

Peeta shrugs at Annie as he lifts Rosy up and over to the sink. Running her tiny hands under the warm water, she giggles as it flies back and squirts her in the face. Grabbing the dish towel, Peeta dries the little girl's hands before ushering her to the front door. Helping her into her oversized coat and heavy winter boots, Peeta then wraps a scarf around his neck mouthing a quick 'thank you' before heading out the door.

Annie washes half the cookie cutters by the time Peeta gets back. Popping her head out of the kitchen door, she comes face to face with a huffing Peeta with his back against the wall. Taking his shoes off slowly, Annie watches as he visibly winces once he puts pressure on his bad leg.

"Do you need some help, Mr. Mellark?"

"It's … okay. I'm fine," he says, hobbling over onto the sofa in the open living room. Falling along the length of the sofa, Peeta breathes out a large sigh. "Would you… um… do me a huge favour? Can you wake up Aidyn? He won't sleep through the night otherwise."

"I won't spook him, will I?"

"Aidyn's tough and stubborn like his mom. It takes a lot for him to be scared."

"Alright."

The ten month old has his eyes wide open when Annie creeps into his dark room. Turning his head towards her, his gray eyes are wide and sparkling as a tiny, toothless grin is directed at her. Aidyn's tiny, chubby arms shoot up into the air as his fists grab at the air. Annie giggles as she picks up the boy from his crib and cradles him in her arms.

"Hi there, Aidyn," Annie coos while holds him in your arms. "How about we go see Daddy now, hm?" The baby gurgles at her, offering another smile before Annie bounds back down the winding stairs to the living room. Aidyn's tiny, blond curls bounce in rhythm to Annie's footfalls, making him smile wider.

"You're a natural," Peeta calls out from the couch as the two enter the room. He is stretches out to his full length of the couch, his head dangling over the arm rest while one foot pushes against the other end of the couch. His other leg, made of plastic and metal, lies on the carpet in front of him. Catching her line of vision, Peeta sighs deeply.

"I'm due for a new one. The thing is chafing like crazy," he gives her a lopsided smile but Annie only blinks. Sitting in an upright position, Peeta places his good leg on the ground and makes a reach for the prosthetic.

" , if it's bothering you, you don't have to wear it," Annie says, sitting down beside him. Peeta looks up at her with a quirked blond eyebrow. She nods in return before Peeta places the leg back onto the floor. Scooping his son from her arms, Peeta sits Aidyn on his good leg where he bounces the boy gently until a laugh trickles out. Annie watches as the calf-less leg lays dormant on the sofa, not twitching or shifting. Only resting and appearing useless.

"So, Finnick had a meltdown this morning?" Peeta asks, lifting his son up into the air to place a kiss on the boy's cheek while checking the boy's diaper at the same time. "It isn't like him to have one in public."

"Does he have them in private more often?"

Peeta rolls his eyes upwards, "Not particularly…he's the 'suffer in silence' type. So it had to be earth shattering to have him drop his mask."

"Oh...um…well Cato almost drowned. Clove had hit him over the head with a flutter board," Annie says, watching as Peeta places Aidyn on the ground. Puts his leg back on and make his way, slowly, to the other side of the room where a diaper bag is tucked into the corner behind the sofa. "After Finnick saved the boy's life, he … got caught up on this idea that he could lose Noah."

"That's when you kissed him," Peeta inquires, scooping up the crawling baby and placing the child onto the changing mat he sets down.

"It was the only thing I could think of that I knew would help him. I had no intention of letting the kids see. I'm sorry."Annie twirls a lose tendril of her hair around her finger. Peeta looks over at her. Where she expects icy disapproval, Annie gets the warm glow of admiration. After securing the diaper around Aidyn's waist and placing the boy in his playpen, he shrugs heavily. Slowly, he limps back over to Annie and slumps down on the couch beside her. Swinging his fake leg across her straightened legs, he offers Annie an amiable smile.

"Finnick's very lucky to have you, Annie," he says, softly, as he leans the side of his head against the back of the couch. "To accept him at his worst, so readily, is such a rare trait to find in another person."

Annie looks down at Peeta's leg and then up into his happily, dancing irises. "It can't be that rare. I'm sure Mrs. Mellark is accepting too."

Annie feels Peeta's leg jerk, violently, in her lap. Turning towards him, Peeta becomes rigid like he had in the kitchen, except the control he had in front of Rosy is non-existent with only Annie present. The heels of his hands dig into his temples as he claws at his hair and scalp. His lips move but do not make a sound while his eyes are screwed shut. Annie feels as if it is the first Christmas without her brother all over again. Aidyn's gurgling ceases and Brutus' nails clicking against the floor come quickly as the dog jumps between his owner and Annie.

"P-peeta…" Annie's voice trembles. Brutus paws tenaciously at his hands. "Peeta, look at me, please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say something wrong. Everything's alright. You're alright. Nothing's going to hurt you."

His mouth stops moving and hands loosen their hold. Peeta's watery blue eyes open carefully. He stares past his dog and towards at her. He blinks once. Wrapping his arms around Brutus' neck, he pulls the dog close as the rest of Peeta's body relaxes.

He squeezes Brutus once more, before letting the dog hop out of his lap and lay to rest by his side. "Mrs. Mellark is my mother, not my wife." Peeta sighs. "Growing up … I didn't exactly have a picture perfect relationship with my mother. She didn't take the fact that I'm schizophrenic very well. She always thought that whatever my two, healthy, older brothers can do, I could do just as well. Obviously, I couldn't, so she lashed out. Up until I was 18 and moved in with Katniss, my mother would abuse me. She'd beat me hardest when I was having an episode."

"Since then, she's become one of the voices inside my head. So to give me peace of mind, everyone just calls my wife Katniss or Ms Everdeen." Peeta adds with a calming smile.

Annie finds herself unable to think a coherent thought. Her mouth gaps as her lips try to form the absent words.

The jiggling of the lock on the front door breaks their silence as a boisterous voice seeps through thin layers of wood. "I'm telling you, Madge, that boy looked just like him." A tall, well-built man with shoulder length dark hair, that frames his strong jaw and handsome features, steps into the house behind Katniss.

"Having green eyes and dark hair isn't uncommon, Gale." Annie's ears perk up as her eyes jump to the much smaller, blond woman that comes in behind the man. The couple take off their shoes and hang their scarves and coats in the hallway closet.

The man notices them first, but does not offer a smile. The man's strides into the living room are wide and swift. His lips are tight in a scowl as his slate gray eyes pierce in their direction. Peeta smiles and waves.

"Nice to see you again, Gale," Peeta straightens his composure, throwing his legs out of Annie's lap and onto the floor. "How was the flight?"

"It would have been faster if we drove," Gale says, his eyes releasing their hold on Peeta's as he stands up. He turns to Annie, his gaze scorching with accusation. "Who's this?" he asks with a snarl as he sizes her up.

"Family friend. She works as a teaching assistant in Rosy's class," Peeta grins, smugly, over his shoulder at Gale as he greets Katniss with a hug and kiss. "Rosy is a sweetie and wanted her to come over and make cookies with us."

The truth did not seem to satisfy Gale. He looks as if he wants to say more but his blond companion saddles up beside him, her face illuminated. Her baby blue eyes sparkle as she, too, scans across Annie's sitting figure. The sudden attention is starting to make her very uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners. Annie, this is Gale Hawthorne and Madge Undersee. Katniss and I grew up with them in Virginia. Gale and Madge, Annie Cresta." Annie nods at the couple slightly. Gale nods back, his gray eyes softening. However, the simple gesture is not enough for Madge as she envelopes Annie into a hug. Her eyes are dilated in recognition as the corners of her fair pink lips rise high into her cheek bones.

"So you're Annie. I've heard so much about you," Madge's tiny voice tinkles Annie's ear before pulling away. "It's wonderful to meet you."

Annie blinks with a smile, "It's nice to meet you too."

"Katniss, Peeta, is Annie coming to dinner as well?" Madge calls out to them, her neck craning behind her so that she voice carries into the kitchen.

"Annie is welcome to stay if she doesn't have other plans. We have enough room," Katniss answers as she feeds Aidyn with a bottle of formula.

"Katniss is a rotten cook and I could use an experienced pair of hands in the kitchen," Peeta teases, earning him a pointed look from Katniss. Annie giggles.

Christmas dinner with the Mellarks' and their friends, without her bourgeois extended family. Annie liked the sound of that. Rolling up the sleeves on her white, knit sweater, Annie walks into the kitchen with a smile. "How can I help?"