Hey guysss!

Now, I know, you're probably thinking: omg, back so soon? And let me be honest with you: I'm surprised with myself too.

Anyways, this is probably just gonna be a filler chapter while I think up ideas for where I wanna take this next. (I have vague ideas, at the moment.)

And while I can't promise anything, it is my goal for my senior year to finish this fanfic. I'm thinking it's gonna be probably pretty long BUT I CAN DO IT! (Hopefully!)

Well, that's it for me. Enjoy the chapter! ;)

Katniss POV:

It's been a week since she and Peeta had returned from District Twelve. Since that night. And while Katniss didn't notice anything different physically, yet, she did notice the changes in her friends and family. They haven't been necessarily good changes. In actuality, it had been a pretty awful week at home.

The Day After:

When Katniss had woken up that morning, Peeta was gone. She remembered how she began panicking immediately. It wasn't like him to not be there when she woke up. Katniss jumped out of bed, ignoring her stiff aching limbs, and quickly put clothes on. She rushed towards the stairs, but halted at the top. Katniss could smell and hear Peeta cooking breakfast in the kitchen. The fact made her instantly relax, knowing that Peeta was safe and alright.

She went and greeted Peeta in the kitchen. "Good morning," her voice sounded sleepy and Katniss suddenly wished she had brushed her teeth before coming downstairs, "what are you making for breakfast?"

"Oh, hey! I didn't think you'd be up so soon." He was still focused on whatever it was that he was cooking. "Well, you have perfect timing, I'm pretty much finished with breakfast. I made scrambled eggs an-" Peeta had been turning around, but stopped and frowned when he saw her face. "Is everything alright, Katniss? You look freaked out."

Katniss realized then that she must've still looked pale or something. "Oh, it's nothing." She waved her hand dismissively. "I just woke up and you weren't there like you usually are, so I kind of panicked.." She felt her face flush. "It's nothing, really-"

"I'm so sorry, Katniss," Peeta's words were rushed and filled with anxiety, "I didn't realize you wanted me there when you woke up. I was just trying to surprise you, that's all." His entire demeanor was apologetic and it broke her heart just a little seeing him so upset by her own silly reaction to something as stupid as simply waking up alone.

"It's fine, Peeta," she then gestured to the pan of eggs he was still holding in his hand, "Are you going to serve breakfast, or what?"

"Oh, right..." Peeta split the eggs among two plates and handed one to her. He then put a tray of bacon and berries in between them. (Shut up, ik it's weird but idc.) The pair ate in silence for the rest of the meal until somebody knocked on the door.

"Katniss? Katniss, are you in there?" It was her mother, which Katniss found strange. Her mother never sought her out. "Katniss?"

She immediately jumped up. "I'll get it," she said to Peeta. Before he could respond, Katniss rushed over to the door and pulled it open. Sure enough, it was her mother. "Mom? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, yes, everything's fine." Her mother said quickly, sounding more motherly than she had in years. "You just never came home last night after you and Peeta arrived in District Twelve. Prim and I were worried."

"Oh." Katniss had forgotten to inform her mother and sister that she would be staying at Peeta's for the night. "Sorry, I was going to stop by and I forgot."

"It's alright." Things quickly became awkward as they fell silent for a few moments. Her mother shifted uncomfortably in front of her. "What time will you be home? I want to talk to you... about what happened at the Games."

Katniss hadn't expected her mother to say that. Even though she was her mother, Katniss' mother hadn't really been there for Katniss throughout some of the most difficult times of her life, so it surprised her that she was here now. "Oh, alright... I should be home after I finish breakfast, we can talk then."

Her mother quickly nodded and stalked off. Katniss shut the door and went back to her silent breakfast with Peeta.

The conversation had been unexpected, to the say the least. Katniss hadn't thought that her mother would've wanted to have a say in Katniss' decision, especially since she clearly knew that she didn't exactly play a significant role in her life, not since her father's death. She most certainly hadn't thought that her mother would be disappointed by her decision.

"Can I be honest with you, Katniss?" It had been the first time in years that her mother had wanted to give Katniss advice on what to do. "I think you're making a mistake. I mean, getting married to Peeta was one thing... but a baby? You're practically giving up your freedom to the Capitol!"

"I already gave up my freedom when I stepped into that Arena last year!" Katniss had begun to raise her voice at that point. "And besides, having a baby and getting married isn't about me. It's about keeping you and Prim and everyone else I love safe."

Her mother just sighed. "But think about it, Katniss, you'd be miserable the rest of your life. Despite what you may think of me, I don't want that for you."

"Well, I'd rather be miserable than have my family dead." Katniss was practically screaming. "And, to be honest, Mom, I don't think you really have a say in this. You haven't exactly been here for me the 6 years!"

Her mother looked hurt when she said that and Katniss almost regretted what she had said to her. Almost. She also thought that was what her mother deserved, after leaving Prim and her to fend for themselves for almost half of Katniss' life. "Alright, then. I suppose you may already be pregnant, anyways." Her mother's voice was cold, her face disappointed. "I hope you don't come to regret your choice, Katniss."

"It doesn't matter if I regret it," she whispered, "all that matters is that all of you are safe."

Her mother just shook her head and walked away.

That wasn't even the worst of it. Later that week, 4 days after that night, Gale had finally come to see her. Secretly, Katniss had been wondering when he would show up and confront her about all this. She knew he would and deep down she also knew that it wouldn't be a fun conversation to have. Gale was bound to be furious with her for having a baby with Peeta, no matter what her reasons were for doing it.

Gale POV:

It had been a long couple of days working in the mines. For whatever reason, President Snow and the Capitol had upped their quotas for coal production and they had been working overtime in order to fulfill them. The extra work meant that Gale came home at the late hours of the night and was even more exhausted than usual. It almost meant that he wasn't able to visit Katniss. Not that he wanted to see her anyway, since Gale knew that she would give Snow what he wanted. He knew that she would have a baby with Peeta. The thought enraged him. He had been the one who was there for Katniss ever since her father died, not Peeta. He was the one who had loved her longer. It should be him who Katniss was having this baby with and she should be doing it because she wanted one, not because she was being forced into it. Katniss should be marrying him out of love and not for the Capitol's pleasure. In fact, Gale thought that he should've been the one in the arena with Katniss, not Peeta. They should've been the star-crossed lovers of District Twelve.

After a few days, the Capitol finally reset their quotas to the original amount and now Gale was back to his initial work schedule. This meant that he had no excuse to keep avoiding seeing Katniss. Even so, Gale still waited a few hours before he figured that he should just go talk to her. Maybe he could convince her not to go through with this, that she shouldn't give up her freedom to the Capitol just because President Snow said so. Even if it meant that they would have to run away from the Districts and live off of nature. They could do it; they knew how to hunt, after all. The entire way to the Victors' Village, Gale kept building his argument in order to keep Katniss from making the worst mistake of her life. When he finally got there, he was confident that he could make her see reason. That he could make her see that she didn't have to do this.

He knocked on her front door and shortly after he heard her yell that she would be there in just a minute. He waited. When the door finally opened, Katniss didn't even look surprised or excited to see him. She looked like she had been expecting him and that she wasn't looking forward to this conversation. "Oh, hey Gale," she said, "where have you been the last few days? I expected you to stop by sooner."

"Sorry, Catnip." He tried his best to grin at her, to try to instill a sense of normalcy between them. "I got caught up in the mines. Capitol raised our quota over the last few days."

"Oh."

"Do you want to go hunting?" He gestured to the woods around them. "I've missed watching you shoot."

"Sure." Katniss then turned around and disappeared through her front door. She was probably going to get her boots and jacket. Shortly after, she reemerged with exactly what Gale thought she had been going to grab. "Have you been able to catch anything good since I was gone?"

"Just a few squirrels," Gale shrugged, "other than that, not too much."

They walked in silence from there until they got to the fence where Katniss spoke. Her question startled him. "So, how's your back healing?"

Gale ducked under the fence to avoid answering her question. He then held it up for her to crawl through. "It's alright," he finally said, "just some scarring, that's all."

Katniss looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry Gale, I never wanted for you to get hurt."

"It's okay, Catnip." He murmured. "It was my fault, anyways."

She didn't say anything to him after that. Instead, she just trudged into the forest and went up to a tree, where she fished out a quiver full of arrows. Then, she went to a fallen tree and grabbed out her bow from under it. Gale followed her, and they didn't really speak whilst they checked his snares and looked for more game. The whole time, Gale tried to find a time where he could bring up what happened with Snow to Katniss. Every moment that passed felt wrong or awkward in some way.

Finally, Gale just spoke. "Catnip?" He reached out to grab her arm, gently.

She looked startled; they'd never really had the type of relationship that involved physical touch. "Gale?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something," he paused for a moment, as he saw her frown and quickly realize what he wanted to talk to her about, "It's about what happened at the Quarter Quell."

"Gale..." Katniss sighed. "You know I have to go through with this, right? If I don't Snow said he would make everyone I love suffer. That includes you."

Despite his best efforts, Gale instantly felt anger swell up inside of him. "But, Catnip, you don't even want kids! You don't even want to get married."

"That doesn't matter, Gale. I couldn't bear to live with myself if something happened to you or Prim or Peeta."

Gale pretended like he didn't hear the last name she had just said. "Then we'll run away, just like we talked about before the last Games." Katniss just frowned at him, like she couldn't believe that he would even bring something like that up. "We could do it, Catnip. Take your family and mine and just run off into the forest. You and I know how to hunt, so we'd have food. There are freshwater streams where we could get water from. All we would need to worry about is finding shelter."

Katniss considered this for a long, hard moment. For a split second, hope flared in Gale's chest. Maybe Katniss would agree, and they would be able to run off and finally be together, just like Gale had always wanted. Again, she sighed. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we could do it," she said, "but..."

"But what, Catnip?" Gale could feel the anger creeping into his voice. "What is it? Do you not want to leave Peeta behind? Because I don't think he's worth having around, really. I think you'd be better off without him."

Katniss gasped and hurt flashed across her features. "How could you say that, Gale?" He could hear the pain in her voice. "I nearly gave up my life for Peeta in that arena and you just want me to leave him behind? I can't do that, Gale."

"Why not? He's weak, Katniss. He won't help us out here." Gale was yelling now. "All he would do is slow us down. We would survive better on our own!"

"It's not about survival, Gale. It's about whether or not I'm willing to just abandon him." She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Which I'm not, by the way... And besides, Gale... It may already be to late."

"What? You already..." Gale felt his heart shatter then. He couldn't believe that she had already done it with Peeta.

"I'm sorry, Gale. But I did what I had to do." Katniss shot him an angry look and stormed off, leaving Gale to stand there with a heart that had just been shattered into a million pieces and a dumbfounded look on his face.

Katniss POV:

She hadn't spoken to Gale since then and she didn't want to. Katniss couldn't believe that Gale would demand that she just up and leave Peeta, after everything that they'd been through together. Even if she did run off with Gale and her family, Katniss knew that she would never be able to leave Peeta. And not just because she could be potentially carrying his child, but because she cared for him.

Katniss was currently in the kitchen, cutting up potatoes for dinner that night. Oddly enough, Katniss enjoyed cooking for Prim and her mother. It brought her a sort of peace, knowing that she was free to do and make whatever she wanted. She didn't have to worry about impressing Snow or convincing the Capitol of anything. She was free here. Just as she was putting the potatoes into a bowl, Prim walked in. Unlike just about everybody else, Prim hadn't talked to Katniss about what happened at the Games. Prim just acted like her sister, which was a relief to Katniss. At least somebody was being normal right now.

"Hey, Katniss," her sister said, "what are you making for dinner?"

"Venison and potatoes." She responded. "Maybe, if you want, we can cut up some of the cheese from your goat's milk and have that too."

"Okay. That sounds good." They fell into a comfortable silence after that. Prim watched as Katniss began to butcher the large cut of venison that would make up the main part of their dinner. Eventually, after a little while, Katniss even forgot that her sister was there since she was so focused with her task. In fact, she almost cut herself with her knife when her sister said: "Katniss?"

"Huh?" Katniss dropped the knife and turned around, facing her sister. "Yes, Prim?"

"You're going to do it, right?" Her sister's voice was serious and Katniss wondered, not for the first time, when Prim had started to become so much more mature. "Give Snow what he wants by having Peeta's baby?"

Katniss felt herself pale. She did not want her sister's judgement. "Yes, I am," she said, "President Snow said he'd hurt you if I didn't."

"Okay.." Prim's gaze dropped to the floor and she stopped speaking. Katniss didn't believe for a second that that was all that Prim had to say about the matter. She was right. "Katniss, can you promise me something?"

"Of course, Prim... anything."

"I know it's not what you want.." Prim looked back up at her sister. "But will you at least try to be happy with Peeta and the baby?"

Katniss felt herself relax, she didn't know what she would've done if Prim had been disappointed in her decision. "I promise, Prim," Katniss said, "but I don't know if I can be happy like this."

"I know, Katniss. But just try..." Her sister walked up to her and put her arms around Katniss, pulling her into a hug. "... for me, please?"

Katniss swallowed and wrapped her own arms around her sister, returning the hug. "I will..." She murmured, pressing her face into Prim's hair. "Thank you, Prim, for understanding.."

"Of course, Katniss." Prim murmured back. "You deserve it."

Katniss felt like she could've cried then. She realized that she was so lucky to have a sister like Prim.

WOOOOOO! I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME! YASSSS! (I know it was just filler, BUT THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT, OKAY?!)

Also, I hope you guys find my depiction of Gale to be accurate. The entire time, I wanted to punch him in the face and throw him off the cliff, which I hope translates well enough that this depiction gives off Gale "the Prim Reaper" Hawthorne. (Basically my strategy was just to make him as annoying and as enraging as possible.)

Soooo... I don't know when I'm going to write the next chapter. But maybe it will be soon... hopefully. Bye guys!