I wake to someone tugging my arm. I turn over and find Mo standing beside the bed looking nervous about something; this, in its self, was odd. Mozart was normally a very confident child, the complete polar opposite to his older brother who prefers solitude due to his shy demeanour. "What's wrong?" I ask sleepily, pulling him into the bed with Peeta and I.

"Monster under my bed" he states "can I sleep in here?"

"Monsters?" Peeta asks, rolling over to rub his nose against the nose of his youngest son "well that won't do, will it?"

Mo shakes his head.

"Shall we go and chase the monster away?" His father asks.

"You do it" Mo tells him.

Peeta sits up and climbs out of the bed. "Come on, Mo; if you show the monster that you're not scared of it then it won't come back." Peeta opens up his arms and Mo reluctantly climbs into them. When Peeta returns, he's laughing.

"What is it?" I ask

"Well, you know how the boys visit each other in the night?"

I nod; both Peeta and I are well aware of the fact that Reed slips into Mo's bedroom at night sometimes when he or Mo can't sleep. We haven't put a stop to it because Reed reads to his little brother and we think that it's quite sweet. "Yes…"

"Well, Reed must have fallen asleep and rolled under Mo's bed. The monster was Reed snoring."

"Oh!" I laugh.

We aren't disturbed again for the rest of the night but, though the boys sleep in later than normal, Peeta and I are up at the crack of dawn.

"How's the building coming along?" I ask Peeta, referring to the apparatus that was being built for the training centre.

"Finnick has almost finished the net" he nods "the targets and climbing wall are done, there's just the climbing apparatus left to finish, and the weapon racks."

"Well the weapons should be arriving sometime at the end of the week" I nod "so the racks aren't too important."

"They won't take long, a day or so at most if we all work on them."

It had taken a long time to get the weapon authorisation; in the end, after several angry phone calls, Plutarch took matters into his own hands. We got the call the other day saying that we'd finally been approved.

"Good" I nod, smiling "will be nice when everything's all finished and we can finally make a start on it."

Peeta nods in agreement just as the phone starts to ring. "Hold that thought" he tells me, getting up to answer it.

He was on the phone for a while; long enough for me to get the boys up, dressed and sat at the table for breakfast. Both Reed and Mo were happily eating eggs and toast when he finally came back in.

"Katniss, can you come out here a sec?" He asks, waiting in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Sure" I frown. "Reed, watch your brother" I instruct my eldest before following Peeta out into the hallway. "What's going on?" I ask.

"That was Plutarch" he sighs "they've finally gotten around to organising a vote for the Capitol."

My confusion deepens "but I thought they'd already decided on Paylor?"

"There still needs to be a vote, Katniss."

"Right" I nod "Ok, and what's this got to do with us?"

Peeta stares at me for a moment before shaking his head "it has been proposed that the remaining few victors return to the Capitol for the vote; they want us to meet with Paylor and the few that she'll be running against to get to know them. They then went to televise us giving our opinions on them, interviewing them and say who we're leaning towards."

"Are they so bored that they're now making political endeavours like a festive event?"

He shrugs "I don't know, Katniss, but they want us there before the end of the month and we'll be there for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"Six months" Peeta sighs "give or take; it all depends on how it takes off. I have to go and discuss this with everyone else and get back to Plutarch by the end of the day. He's making it sound like we have a choice but we don't; he'll change his wording if we all agree not to go, making it mandatory."

"What about our families?" I ask "our children?"

"Married victors are allowed to bring their partners and the children are welcome to come with us but, unfortunately, your mother and Prim will have to stay here. Childcare will be provided as well as accommodation for the duration we are there. Plutarch was very thorough; telling us of how not many people will ever get this opportunity and that we should jump at the chance."

"But we can go to the Capitol whenever we like!"

"For shopping trips, yes; he says that, this way, we're able to see how the Capitol works and how people live."

I roll my eyes "we already know how they live; they hoard food, though they have too much of it already, and they dress ridiculously. I don't want to go Peeta but I'd rather pretend to have a choice than be forced onto that damn train."

Peeta nods "those are my thoughts too."

"God, Peeta, Mom and Cinna are supposed to be getting married next month!"

"You could ask them to pull it forward?" He suggests "I mean, there won't really be many people to celebrate it if they don't, will there?"

"That's true" I nod. "Can you sit with the boys whilst they finish breakfast? I just need to get some air."

"Sure, hey" he grabs me before I can walk away and pulls me into his chest "it's not forever, Katniss; we'll vote for Paylor and hopefully everyone else will to. We'll be home before we know it."

"It's not the leaving that's bothering me, Peeta" I reply "I mean, it was only a few weeks ago we were saying that we were bored; this is the perfect solution even if it's just for a little while. It's the lies that are bothering me; being told that we have a choice when we obviously don't. I don't like being lied to and I don't like being forced into doing something. I also think that it'll be good for the boys, learn a little about the Capitol whilst being there."

"I know" he says "let's just embrace it as though it was our decision, ok?"

I end up at my mother's house, of course I do; when I'm annoyed or upset I usually end up here, at Cinna's or Haymitch's or out in the woods. I didn't feel like trekking into the woods, I couldn't talk to Haymitch about this until Peeta has and Cinna now lives with my mom so, seeing Prim and my mom was the only option left only they were out.

"Katniss?" Cinna was sitting in the study when I let myself in; it looked as though he was working on a new outfit. "What's going on?"

"Plutarch just called" I say, throwing myself down on the loveseat.

"Not good news, I assume." He sighs, moving out from the desk and coming over to sit with me; he did his usual thing of moving my legs and placing them on his knees when he'd sat down. "Want to talk about it? I am usually good a giving advice, you know; plus I'm going to be your step-"

"Don't" I stop him "I may be fine with you marrying my mother but I'll never call you dad."

For some reason this seems to offend him. "Why?"

"There are so many reasons, Cinna" I sigh "but the main one is that you've seen me naked and touched my body whilst I was naked. This, of course, wouldn't matter if I'd been an infant, Cinna, but we're talking about when I was sixteen and almost fully developed."

"Those were all for professional reasons" he reminds me.

I nod "I know that but-"

Cinna laughs "it's fine, Katniss, I understand. I never actually expected you to call me dad; I was just saying that I will give you the same kind of support as a father should. I will do my utmost to help you, Katniss, regardless."

"My boys love you" I tell him "they already call you Pappy."

"I know" he grins "anyway, back to the matter at hand. What's going on?"

I explain to him the situation, just how Peeta explained it to me. He listens intently, not speaking until I'd finished. "I don't mind going, Cinna" I finish "but something about it all feels off; I don't know if it's just because we don't actually have a choice or if there's something else going on."

He nods "I see; well, all you can do is go and find out. All I can advise is that you be on guard the entire time, make sure you have some kind of defensive weapon on you and, maybe, leave the boys with me and your mother?"

"I've thought about doing that" I say "but I don't think I can bare being away from them for that long and who says they'll be safer here, in twelve, than with Peeta and I in the Capitol?"

"It's just something to think about."

"Yeah, I suppose" I say, getting up "thanks, Cinna, I should probably be getting back now. See you later?"

"Course you will, Girl on Fire; anyway, your mother and I need to pull the wedding forward so we'll be needing your advice, seeing as you're going to be her maid of honour." he stands up and hugs me before walking me to the front door.

"Maid of honour?"

He nods, grinning "and the boys are going to be page boys; I've already started making their suits."

I hug him again, tighter this time. "Maybe, in time, I'll call you dad" I tell him "I know that I love you; you treat my mother like a queen and my sister like a princess. I couldn't have wished for better for both of them."

"I'll take that as a compliment but I think that Rory and Prim are discussing moving in together-"

I gawk at him before I have to remind myself that Prim is no longer a child. She'll be eighteen soon. "That's…sudden"

"I promised I wouldn't tell you until she had a chance to talk to you first; evidently I'd forgotten that I'd promised her that."

"Don't worry" I assure him "I'll pretend to be surprised and outraged when she finally tells me and, Cinna, please don't say anything to anyone about what I told you until Peeta's told the other's" I plead.

"I promise" he winks "see you soon."

Mom and Prim appear just as I'm walking back home and Prim runs over to me. "Katniss! Do you have a minute or so later? We could have lunch together or something."

"I've always got time for you, Little Duck" I tell her "what's wrong?"

She grins at me "I'll see you later" she says before running back to mom.

"Katniss?" Peeta calls when I finally let myself back into the house.

"Yeah, it's me!" I call back, taking my shoes off.

He's still sitting at the table, with the boys, when I walk in. "I called around the others. They're all going to come round here around three, is that ok?"

"Yeah" I sigh "sooner rather than later, right?"

"Right" he smiles.

"Peeta, I was wondering if you could take the boys out of the house for lunch; Prim's coming over to talk to me about something and-"

"That's fine" he agrees immediately "I'll make a picnic and we can go frogging or something. Do you know what she wants to talk to you about?"

I nod "she doesn't know that I know but Cinna told me; she and Rory are talking about moving in together. I'm guessing that's what she wants to tell me."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"She's no longer a child" I reply "she's old enough to make her own decisions."

My husband smiles at me "that's not what I asked."

I sigh, rolling my eyes as I sit beside Mo who's drawing a picture on a sheet of paper. "I'm having to remind myself that she's no longer the twelve year old I had to leave behind. She's a woman in her own right and probably more sensible that I am."

"She's endured a lot through the years" Peeta reminds me "had to grow up quickly, just like you did."

"The games and the rebellion changed us all" I nod.

Peeta takes my hands, squeezing them; he knows just how protective I am when it comes to Prim. I did all but raise her after our father died. "I like to think that it changed us for the better" he states before letting go of my hands and saying "I'd better start making our lunches then."