Epilogue

Katniss

8 months later

Peeta rattles about in the drawers in the kitchen as I tie balloons to the door frames. There is a lot of crashing and banging as Peeta searches for something amongst the mess in the kitchen.

"Katniss, where do you keep the matches?" he calls through from the kitchen.

"I ran out. Do you have any in your boxes?" I reply.

Peeta appears from the kitchen and surveys some of the unpacked boxes lying in the hallway. After eight months of officially dating it became clear that we never spent a night apart. We finally made the decision to officially move all of Peeta's stuff into my apartment and all his boxes arrived on Monday. I love having Peeta around but he sure does have a lot of stuff.

"They're in one of these boxes. I just don't know which one," he huffs. "I need them to light the candles on Prim's cake."

I smile at him as I finish tying the balloons and go and help him search through the boxes. Prim is one year sober today and Peeta has been stressed, trying to put together the perfect party for her to celebrate. He's been cooking all week and cleaned the apartment about five times to get things right for her.

"If you didn't have so much cooking stuff the matches might be easier to find," I say as I sift through the various cooking utensils. Peeta looks up at me with a grin.

"You don't seem to complain when I used all my equipment to make you waffles this morning," he replies.

I smile and shake my head before I catch sight of the box of matches underneath a toaster. I raise the matches triumphantly above my head and Peeta looks up relieved.

"Found them!" I exclaim. "Do I get a reward?"

Peeta grins as he takes a few steps towards me. He takes the box of matches out of my hand before curling an arm around my waist to pull me to him.

"What reward did you have in mind?" he asks.

I smile up at him with a twinkle in my eye before I push up onto my toes to kiss him. Peeta smiles into the kiss as he puts both arms around me and lifts me slightly from the ground. I giggle as I wrap my arms around his neck before we both sink into the kiss.

I still can't believe I am this happy even eight months down the line. Loving Peeta has come as naturally to me as breathing. One glimpse of his dopey grin in the morning is enough to put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. But I am still terrified that he is going to be taken away from me. My nightmares of losing my parents and Gale have expanded to include images of losing Peeta too. But I've learned to live more in the moment and not fret about the bad things that could happen in the future.

We kiss for several minutes until we are interrupted by a clearing of the throat coming from the doorway.

"I get enough of this at the bar. You have a bedroom for a reason, you know," Uncle Haymitch declares.

He stands in our hallway beside Prim, who is carrying a box of soda and fruit juice. While Uncle Haymitch looks a little disturbed, Prim has an amused smile on her face.

"A room doesn't help much either. Why else did you think I got ear plugs for when Katniss slept over?" she says.

I blush and Peeta chuckles as he pulls me into his side. I bury my head in his shoulder to try and hide my embarrassment.

"So Katniss is quite vocal in the bedroom then? They say it's always the quiet ones," another female voice says.

Behind Uncle Haymitch and Prim is a young woman with spikey jet black hair and a piercing in her nose. She carries a bag of chips and Prim turns to her with a grin.

The woman is Johanna Mason. She is a former drug addict and was one of the volunteers at the rehabilitation centre that Prim went to. Prim became close with her during her time at the centre and Johanna has been Prim's sponsor since she got out.

I don't know what we would do without her. She's the only one who can calm Prim down and make her see sense when the cravings are really bad. Peeta and I have often had to watch on hopelessly as Johanna has comforted Prim, telling her to focus on her breathing and think of her happy place while Prim sits rocking and crying on the floor. Johanna has been vital in Prim reaching this milestone.

Johanna and Prim walk further into the apartment to put down the goodies and Johanna lets out a low whistle as she turns to survey the room.

"You definitely went all out, Mellark," Johanna says impressed.

Peeta has gone a bit overboard. Balloons and streamers hang from almost every surface and the kitchen table is covered with all types of homemade finger food. A huge banner covers almost the entire length of the back wall with the words "Congratulations Prim!" written in bright red lettering. He's made fifty delicately iced cupcakes with a perfectly piped 1 on top to mark Prim's one year anniversary. My mouth has been salivating ever since he displayed them this morning and I can't wait to bite into one.

Prim takes it all in carefully and a small, proud smile spreads across her face.

"I can't believe I made it. I really didn't think I would after last week," she says.

"You've done well, squirt. The first year is the hardest," Johanna says throwing an arm around Prim's shoulder.

Prim gives her a grateful smile and looks mightily relieved to have made it.

The last week was particularly hard for Prim with her cravings. Peeta was making such a big fuss about her reaching the one year mark that she began to crack under the pressure of it all. She didn't want him to plan anything until she had definitely reached the one year mark. We got a very scary phone call from her, at the end of last week, as she called us in floods of tears with a syringe in her hands. We dropped everything immediately to go and get her from the town two hours away that supplied her the drugs. Johanna spoke to Prim on the phone the entire time it took us to get there to make sure Prim didn't puncture her skin with that needle. It was a very clear reminder that even though Prim has gone so long sober the need for heroin is never going to entirely disappear.

We all smile proudly back at her and Peeta drops his arm from around me to go over and give Prim a warm hug.

"You are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. I'm so proud to call you my sister," he says.

Prim returns his hug readily and they share a quiet moment together. The two of them have become close again these last few months. They have had to relearn almost everything about each other but I love the moments I get to see them being silly as they tease one and other.

After a moment they pull away and finish setting out the rest of the food and decorations. Uncle Haymitch slumps down on a chair and pours himself a glass of orange juice. He scrunches his nose a little at the lack of alcohol in it as he puts the glass back down.

"A party with no alcohol. I'm sure this is just going to be a hoot!" he declares.

I raise my eyebrows at him.

"I thought you were quitting for good now," I say.

Uncle Haymitch has changed a lot in the last year too. Seeing the state Prim got herself into forced him to open his eyes about his own habits. He's been slowly trying to wean himself off the drink for good and is now down to only a couple of glasses a day but he did say if Prim reached the one year he'd quit entirely too.

"I don't know why you are encouraging me to stop drinking. Just means you'll have to put up with my sarcastic comments longer," he replies.

We all share a smile and Prim bends down to wrap her arms around him.

"We want you with us as long as possible, Haymitch. Who else is going to call us out for being idiots if you're not around?" Prim says.

Uncle Haymitch smiles affectionately up at her and reaches up to pat her arm around his shoulder.

"I definitely bring the brains to this little group. You bring the beauty and Peeta brings the food. I'm not really sure what Katniss brings to the party," he replies as he shoots me a smile.

I scowl and Prim laughs. She bends down to give him a quick kiss on the head before she skips off to help Johanna lay out all the cups. Uncle Haymitch watches on at her fondly. Finally, after twenty years of grieving, he's got something to wake up for in the mornings again.

Shortly after the other guests begin to arrive. There's not many. Just Rue and a couple of other young girls Prim has made friends with in Seam as well as Greasy Sae, who Prim works for in the local grocery store. Prim jumps up excitedly to meet everyone that comes through the door with a big hug and kiss on their cheek. Her eyes are bright and animated as she talks away with her guests and the proud smile never leaves her face. Her whole skin has a rosy glow to it now and her hair is a luscious gold colour. She is so different from the pale and withdrawn girl we found a year ago.

I sit on Peeta's lap as his hand rubs soothing circles on my back. We are both content to just watch Prim enjoy herself and finally act like an average twenty year old. Uncle Haymitch catches our eye from across the room and the smile he gives us tells us he feels the exact same.

Suddenly I feel something vibrating from Peeta's pocket and he scrambles about to answer his phone. He screws up his eyebrows in confusion when he sees the number and gently removes me from his lap.

"It's a number from my old hometown. I wonder what it's about," he says.

I shrug my shoulder and watch him get up to answer it. He leaves the room for some quiet and Uncle Haymitch seems to share my confusion as he watches Peeta go. I turn back my attention to the party and know Peeta will tell me if it is anything serious.

I tune into Prim's discussion with her friends about what she's planning to do next.

"I've got my GED coming up in two weeks and I think I'm more worried about that then staying sober for another year. Algebra just doesn't make sense to me," she says.

Many of her friends look at her sympathetically. Prim has been studying for her GED these last six months and while she has breezed through most of it she failed the math section in her practice tests. Peeta is worried that the stress of the exam will cause her old problems to arise again.

"We can set up a study group. I'm doing algebra as one of my courses at community college. We can learn together," Rue says.

Prim looks really relieved and smiles at Rue.

"Really? That would be such a big help. Katniss and Peeta try to help but Peeta just gets as confused as me and spends half the time trying to figure out what the textbook says before getting the answer wrong," Prim replies.

There's a round of laughter and I join in too. Peeta has tried hard to help Prim study but we both left high school a while ago now. Most of the textbook is gobbledygook to us now.

The girls soon begin talking about what Prim wants to do after her GED and they discuss the possibility of her becoming a veterinarian nurse. Since arriving back in Seam Prim's love for animals has been re-awakened and she has even convinced Uncle Haymitch to raise geese in the back yard of the bar. She might not have the grades to be a full vet but a vet nurse is definitely a possibility.

As the girls all discuss what their favourite animal is Peeta comes back through looking ashen. Immediately I stiffen and prepare myself for the worst.

"What's happened?" I ask.

Peeta doesn't say anything as he walks slowly over and takes a seat next to me. I watch him with a slight fear as he turns to face me.

"That was the hospital from my hometown. Mom's dead. A neighbour found her choked in her own vomit. They think she had been lying there for two days," he says.

I'm shocked by the nature of the news. I don't have any nice thoughts about Mrs Mellark but it is still a sad way to die. With no one to love you enough to realise you were gone. Peeta seems in shock too and sits staring into the distance. I am conscious that the room is silent and then Prim's voice cuts through the air.

"Good," she says. "I'm glad that she's dead."

"Prim!" I exclaim. I'm shocked by the coldness of her voice.

"Why should I be sorry? That woman abused me for years and made me feel ashamed for being who I was. I don't have one good memory of her. Peeta, you can't tell me that you feel sad that she's gone?" Prim replies.

Peeta looks up towards his sister. He struggles to find the right words.

"I don't know what I feel," he says slowly. "Mostly just relief."

Prim gives him a small smile and the pair of them share a look of mutual understanding.

I can't begin to pretend that I know what they are feeling. My parents showed me nothing but love while they were alive and I was devastated by their death. I need to let them come to terms with this on their own.

Prim turns back to her friends as they change to subject to something more light heartened and Peeta continues to stare in disbelief ahead of him. I shuffle closer to him and put my arm around his shoulder. He flinches at first at my touch, forgetting I was just beside him, but he doesn't pull away as I rub circles on his arm.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

He takes a deep breath and nods his head slowly. He turns to me with a tired smile.

"I never loved her but it's weird to think of her as gone. I'm just glad she can't hurt anymore people," he says.

I smile sadly at him before resting my head against his shoulder. Peeta goes back to staring out at the party.

Once all the guests have left Prim and Peeta will deal with their mom's death in the way they need to. They'll do it without me but I'll be here waiting for them when they return. Because that is what we do for each other. We protect each other from the ghosts that haunt our past.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this little glimpse into their future. They have all come a long way by this point.

Thanks again to everyone that supported this story. It really helps motivate me to write more and I love hearing all your thoughts along the way!