Disclaimer: Final chapter! Hope y'all like it!

Two Months Later:

Madge was finally able to move down to 2 with me. There were some complications with her age; they were saying that she was unable to move without parent consent. Considering her family is dead, Haymitch had to return to 13 and pull some strings for her. Haymitch kind of took her in, I'm assuming. Finally, when it was all sorted and settled, she packed up her few belongings and was able to get down to 2.

It's absolutely great having her down here with me. To be able to see her all the time, and do everything with her is absolutely amazing. Everyday is something different; she always manages to surprise me in everything she does.

Now that she's been here two months, she's finally settled in. Madge got a job in the library, and she's there while I'm at work. She usually gets home before me, and will start on dinner. She struggles with some parts of it, such as cutting meat or vegetables, but when I get home I'm able to help her. She still hasn't decided about the prosthetic arm, and I urge her to take the offer.

Jodie and Atticus adore her. The first time she went over there with me for dinner, they automatically warmed up to her, after I announced who she was. They love having us over, and even sometimes they come over to our apartment.

One day, while we're eating dinner, Madge announces to me that she wants to try the prosthetic. "Really?" I ask, grinning, and she nods again.

"I want to be able to use both arms again, and I want to actually be able to do everything again."

"Okay," I smile, standing and taking our plates, "We can call tomorrow and find out what to do." I hear her chair squeak and while I'm rinsing off the plates, her arm wraps around me from behind. I feel her head rest on my back. "The hell are you doing?" I laugh and I feel her face shift into a smile.

"Hugging you," She responds, as I put the plates down and dry my hands. I turn so I can hold her as well.

I ask dumbfounded, "Why?"

She laughs and stands on her toes to kiss me. "What, am I not allowed to hug you?" She snickers and I roll my eyes at her.

"Well, usually when you do, you want something." I chuckle and she blushes. I poke her side. "Spill."

She smiles sweetly, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm really happy you let me come live with you."

I raise a brow. "That it?" She giggles and nods. I grin, and peck her lips. "Well I'm really happy that you came to live with me, too." She giggles again. "That first month here was awful, you know. And finally when you agreed to come, everything just turned around. Work got better. Home life got better. Hell, even dinner at the Caverly's got better, thanks to you." She blushes greatly again and I smile.

"I love you," She murmurs, kissing me again.

I smile, "I love you, too." We stand in the kitchen for a few moments, until finally I speak again. "I guess we have ol' Haymitch to thank for getting you here." She grins.

"And of course you don't want to thank the man." I wrinkle my nose and she giggles. "Luckily I already did."

"Good, so I don't have to talk to him." She swats my cheek.

She tugs on her hair. "I actually talked to him the other day." I raise a brow at her. "He said that Katniss finally came back to 12."

"And?"

Madge sighs. "Said that Katniss is getting a little better, but she's still so emotionally damaged from the Games and the war. She can't function properly, even with Prim there. Haymitch said that Peeta's trying to help her, but even he doesn't know who he really is. Mrs. Everdeen isn't doing much either, apparently." I groan and rub my face. She never really did anything for her daughters. Then, Madge deadpans. "He asked if you would go up there and try to talk to Katniss, since you're her best friend."

"No," I immediately say, "I can't."

Madge protests, "Gale, come on. Katniss needs your help," I pull my hands from Madge's waist and rest against the counter. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to avoid the onslaught of memories that won't go away. The bombings, my bombs. Everything.

Madge's voice faintly breaks through my thoughts. "Gale," My hands grip onto the counter and her body presses up against mine, trying to break the thought process, but it's not working. "Gale, please, stop thinking about it,"

My breathing turns labored, and vision goes spotted. I see everything that I've done, everything that I've destroyed, everyone that I've killed. I can't unsee anything, it's all engraved in my head forever. "Gale," Her voice finally breaks through completely and my arms search for her.

My lips frantically press against hers repeatedly, and she lets me. My hands pull her flush against me, needing an anchor from my nightmares. Her hand slowly wipes my face and she quiets me. "Shh... It's over, Gale. It's not going to happen again. You're okay." She gotten good at handling my attacks, and knows how to stop them when they're coming. Sometimes, the most random things will trigger one, and sometimes, they'll happen out of nowhere.

I hold her tight against me and lean back against the counter. Her hand traces against my chest, and my breathing slowly returns to normal. "I'm sorry," She murmurs and I shake my head.

"Not your fault. I'm okay." I lie, and she stares me down.

"It is my fault, I brought up.. Home, and.. I'm sorry. I'll tell Haymitch that you can't make it."

I continue to hold her against me and we stand in the kitchen for several minutes until finally I push us off of the counter. "I'm going to bed. Care to join me?" I ask, and she blushes, but nods. Going to bed is the best part of the day. Being able to hold my girlfriend all night and not have to worry about one of my siblings waking us up, or having training early the next morning is amazing. And it's even better after an episode.

We quickly change before crawling into bed. We don't exactly stay on one side of the bed, we're more in the middle of it, pressed together tightly. My hands skim under the shirt and slowly rub circles on her stomach. She shifts so she's closer to me and I smile a little, pressing a kiss to her jaw.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asks me quietly, and I nod slowly.

"Yeah," I admit, "I'm okay. Honest. It's just that it's hard to deal with it."

She murmurs, "I know. It's hard watching you deal with it."

I sigh and nuzzle her neck. "I'll be okay. Really." I say, and Madge finally accepts the answer, snuggling into my side. My fingers curl through her hair, and eventually we both fall asleep, clutching each other.

Several Weeks Later:

When Madge goes in to try the prosthetic, immediately she tries to back out of it.

"Madge," I groan as I put my truck in park. "It's not going to hurt you."

"I know," She grumbles, rubbing her face. "I just don't want it to not work."

I roll my eyes at her. "It's going to work, Madge. These doctors have been trained to deal with this kind of stuff. They know what they're doing. If they do one thing you don't like, you don't have to go through with it." She's not budging and I groan.

"Do you want to be able to do everything again?" She nods defiantly and I raise an eyebrow. "Then let's go." She shakes her head and I lean across the console. "We can go straight to bed when we get home." I murmur and wink at her. Her cheeks burst red and she giggles a little at me.

"Gale Hawthorne, are you trying to seduce me?"

"That depends. Is it working?" I tease and she swats me.

"Maybe," She says quietly, and I laugh and wink at her again.

"Then let's go."

Once inside the building, Madge signs in, and soon enough her name is called. She twines our fingers and we slowly walk back with the doctor to an examination room. Madge hops up on the examination table and tugs on her hair. A woman comes in and gets all of Madge's vitals (blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) before leaving. About twenty minutes later, two doctors come in, with a tray of equipment. Panic flashes in her eyes and I raise a brow. She motions for me to move next to her, and slowly, I stand and cross the room to her. She tangles our fingers.

"Margaret Undersee, correct?"

"Yes sir," Madge repeats, giving them nervous smiles. She's unable to shake hands with them. "I go by Madge, though." They jot that down in her file, and turn to me.

"And you are...?" They trail off.

"Gale Hawthorne," I shake hands with both of them, and they ask my relation to Madge. Madge blushes greatly and I grin on the inside. "We live together." They look at each other for a moment, but get right to it.

They take measurements on her other arm, as well as her hands and fingers. Then, show us different models. Madge looks completely overwhelmed. My brain moves faster, finding the flaws in each of them. There aren't many, but still there's a few. I don't mention it to Madge.

The men leave, and a female nurse comes in carrying a hospital gown for Madge to change into. She asks that I return to the lobby while Madge changes, and immediately I protest. Madge said that she didn't want me to leave during the appointment.

"Gale," Madge murmurs, resting her hand on my chest. "It's okay. You'll be able to come back in once I'm changed."

"But," I protest and Madge shushes me. The nurse is tactful enough to pretend that she's not listening.

"Gale," She says again, dropping her voice. "Remember our plan?" I smirk when her cheeks heat up.

"Of course I do."

She bites her lip to keep from grinning. "Then let's stick to it." I snicker and glance at the nurse before leaving the room. Once in the lobby, I sit for several minutes tapping my foot and scowling. The mothers in the room look at me disapproving while I scowl at everyone. When I'm allowed back into the examination room, I find Madge is trying on several different types. She struggles with it, and the nurse helps her figure out how to work them.

Though they aren't fit for her measurements, some seem to fit her better than others, and some just look awkward on her. Once Madge finds one that fits correctly, the nurse jots down some information about it and leaves us be. She allows Madge to get dressed again, and when she's done, the nurse returns. She tells us of how to correctly handle the prosthetic, how to clean it, and other things like that.

Madge looks completely overwhelmed. I hold onto her hand reassuringly and occasionally give it a squeeze and she squeezes back.

She looks over my shoulder as we sign some papers for the prosthetic, and when I glance back at her, her brows furrow. "It's worth it, Madge." I know she's looking at the price. She sighs, and then we're shooed out of the office. The prosthetic will arrive in three weeks.

After the prosthetic arrives, Madge uses it for about two weeks, and it works great. She's able to do loads of stuff she hasn't been able to do, and much more. She's ecstatic that she can finally do everything again. The only problem is that neither of us are very good at putting it on. She has trouble trying to deal with it with one hand, and even I have trouble getting it on her. It takes us a while each morning to put it on, and takes even longer to take off. She hates that part.

So some days, she just goes without it, and she just deals with everything taking much longer. I guess she'll just decide eventually what she wants to do with it. At least she has it, if anything comes up.

One Year Later:

When I'm twenty-two and Madge is twenty, Atticus is diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. They had no idea that anything was going on until a few days ago when Atticus went in for an MRI. We spend literally two days in the hospital with Jodie, as they have no children. Atticus remains in chemotherapy. When we are allowed to see him, he becomes weaker and more fragile every time.

Jodie tries to be strong and not break in front of her husband, but more than once she's had to leave. Madge usually follows her, and then they're gone for a long time. When they return, the cycle starts all over it.

It's hard for all of us.

Madge and I are over at their house much more now, to be with Jodie. We help her around the house, and make sure she's okay. She wants to spend every waking second with her husband in the hospital, but we and the doctors have told her that it's going to do no good. She must know that he's going to die. He's about seventy years old, and cancer does no good for a fragile health system.

One night, when Madge and I are back at our own apartment, we start to talk.

"It's awful," She murmurs, while we sit on the couch together. "I hate seeing people like that."

"Because it reminds you of your mother," I reply, rubbing her back. She's stressed about this, we all are. She loves the couple just as much as they love her, and this is hitting her very hard. Sure, it's hitting me as well. I just don't let it show for Madge or Jodie's sake.

She nods and rubs her face, leaning back onto my chest. I kiss her hair and she sighs again. "Do you think that's gonna happen to us?"

"What?" I ask, furrowing my brows.

"One of us gets really sick and then.." I shake my head.

"It won't, Madge. Sure, we're both going to eventually die, but hopefully not in that way. They—Atticus and Jodie—don't have any family to be with them during this time."

"Which is why we're with them now." She interjects, and I nod.

We," I say, gesturing between the two of us, "Have plenty of family to be with us if that ever happens. Which it won't. They lived in a harder time, Madge. We lived in the end of the worst part, they lived all throughout it. Atticus was born during the 5th Hunger Games, Jodie sometime after that. They've seen everything that's happened. A lot of medical advances have come through, and it's a lot better now."

She sniffles and rests her head on my chest. "Then how come they can't help Atticus?" She tears up and I wrap my arms around her.

"Oh, baby, don't cry. It's gonna be okay," I murmur, stroking her hair. "It's just his time, Madge. There's nothing we can do about it now. If the doctors had caught it earlier then maybe things would be different, but he's.. He's old, Madge. You know that." She tightens her grip on me, and I kiss her hair again.

She cries into my shirt for a few minutes and finally speaks again. "I just wish we could do something to help them."

I say softly, "We are helping them, Madge. We're there for them. They have no children; they weren't able to have them. All of their family is either dead, or in a different district. It's too far to travel. We're the only ones who can help them right now. They just need our company. That's all we can do."

Madge sniffles again and she rubs her face. "I just wish it wasn't them,"

I nod. "I know, I hate it too." Part of me wonders if Madge and I could end up like that, no children and no family with us when something bad happens. I don't voice my concerns though; I don't want to worry her more than necessary. She's completely worried about Atticus. He's like her second father, practically.

Madge is quiet for a few minutes, tracing lines on my chest. "Gale?"

"Hm?"

"You want children, right?"

My brows furrow. "You know I do. Why?" I immediately panic. We aren't married yet, that's a little too fast. Every time she mentions it I panic.

"Calm down," She murmurs, "Yes, I know what you're thinking. I'm not. I just want to make sure we have kids to take care of us when we're old and cranky." I laugh a little and pull her into my lap.

"Do you want them?" We've talked about marriage, and kids and such, but we're both so young and have a few years before anything like that gets serious.

She nods furiously. "Course I do. I love kids." I smile, and peck her mouth. "But we have to get married first, silly." She swats my chest and I laugh.

"You're twenty, Madge."

"So?" She teases and I laugh. "I'm kidding," She murmurs. "We'll get there."

"Yes we will," I reply, kissing her quickly. "How many do you want?"

Madge chews her lip for a second, but then answers me, "Maybe three. Or four. Or five, I don't know."

I roll my eyes. "That's very helpful, Madge. Very helpful." She giggles and we lay back down on the couch and continue to sit in our comfortable silence.

Two weeks later, we get the call. I'm woken up around two in the morning by the phone ringing loudly in my ear. I groan, and peel Madge off of me before reaching for the phone on my bedside table. I listen to the speaker for a few seconds, before I shake Madge awake.

"Madge," I say frantically, "Madge, wake up." Finally, her eyes creak open and she blinks a few times at me. "We need to go to the hospital. Get dressed." Her eyes widen greatly and she springs out of bed. We both quickly change into other clothing and hop into my truck. Madge keeps sucking in sharp breaths, and my hand finds hers over the console.

Once we arrive, we find the room where Atticus has been in is very quiet. There's a weary-looking nurse outside holding a clipboard. Madge clings onto my shirt as I approach her.

"Hi, ma'am, we're here for Atticus Caverly?" I say, and the nurse's eyes skirt to Madge behind me, before to the door of Atticus's room.

"He's right inside, sir. He's.. He doesn't have much time. His wife is in with him." I nod, and Madge slowly knocks on the door. She's already biting back tears. I press my hand on the small of her back and urge her inside.

What I see almost kills me. Part of me thinks Atticus is already dead. He looks sunken into the bed; he's so frail and small. Jodie sits in the chair next to his bed, a chair I have taken many times when Madge has been in the hospital. Her hand clutches his, and I urge Madge forwards again.

"Jodie," I say quietly, and she turns sharply. As soon as she sees us, her eyes fill with tears.

"You came," She croaks, and moves to us slowly, like a wounded animal that has given up.

Madge moves forward to her and embraces her quickly. "Of course we did," I hear Madge murmur, and I look towards Atticus. Madge speaks very quietly to Jodie, and I'm tactful enough to not listen. Atticus' vitals are falling fast. His heartbeat is slowing down, as is his breathing. Cancer has clearly taken its toll on him.

His eyes slowly open and he looks around the room. His gaze lands on me, and I move towards him, attempting a warm smile. Atticus tries as well, but ends up coughing. I replace Jodie in the chair and Atticus' head creaks towards me.

"Take care of her." Atticus croaks quietly, and I glance towards his wife.

"We will. It's the least we can do, after you two took us in after the war." I tell him quietly, glancing at his vitals once more.

Atticus coughs out, "Stop looking at them. I know they're falling." I sigh, and nod. He coughs a little more, his entire body wracking with the coughs, and I pray for him. "Make sure she's okay. Have dinner with her, every once and a while."

I grin a little at the older man. "Every Sunday night. Thank you, Atticus, for everything." I shake his hand a little, and I'm sad to realize that his grip is weak, very weak. "And now Madge is going to come over here, so I'm just gonna move." Atticus smiles a little, and I move over for Madge to take my place. I know that face. She's trying so hard not to cry. Her eyes are already tinged red.

I give Jodie a tight hug. "You'll be okay, Jodie. I promise." The woman gives me a soft smile.

"I know. I have you two." I smile weakly at her and I hear Madge's soft laughter from beside the bed. "It'll be hard, I know." She says weakly, and I give her another hug. "But, he'll be with me."

I nod and give her a weak smile. "He will be." I go to say something else until something starts beeping on a monitor. Madge springs out of the seat and hurries next to me. Jodie quickly moves back into the chair. Madge buries her head into my side and I wrap my arms around her as Atticus starts speaking very quietly to Jodie. Madge's body trembles in my grasp and I lean down and press a quick kiss to her head. My heart aches for Jodie and Atticus both.

Madge peaks out from my side and I see a few tears leak down her face. I swipe them away gently and we inch closer to the bed, as Jodie finally cracks. Tears streak down her face, and her husband weakly tries to brush them away, but he's unable to. Madge bites her lip to prevent herself from crying out. I know that as soon as we get home, we're both going to crack into a million pieces.

I look away for literally two seconds. When I look back, Atticus' vitals have gone flat. The heart monitor has stopped, and all that remains is the straight red line. Jodie's head is resting on her husband's hospital bed, and Madge curls into my side. She has silent tears, but I know that they're there.

After several moments of silence, Madge pulls herself from my side. She inches across the room slowly. After she wipes the tears off of her face, she puts her arm around Jodie, who's body is wracked with silent sobs. The two women hold each other for a few moments, and I stare at Atticus. His chest has gone flat, and his body limp. But, there's a light smile on his face.

The elderly woman in the room turns to Madge, while she whispers comforting things to her. A nurse comes in, sees our solemn faces, and bows her head slowly. I walk to the two women and hold both of them tightly, mostly Jodie. The nurse leaves, giving us time to be alone. I blink my own tears out of my eyes and wipe Madge's and Jodie's. Jodie keeps sniffling, and crying, and I can't do a thing about it. She just lost her husband, for Christ's sake.

We remain at the hospital for several more hours, past the sunrise. Jodie has to make a few calls, and the doctor's shoo Madge and I out of the room. We sit in the chair's right outside his room. Madge keeps her body close to mine, and keeps wiping her eyes. My own are blurry and red. Hers are the same. When Jodie returns, Madge releases herself from me and moves to Jodie, giving her another hug.

The older woman turns to me and says shakily, "You two can go home. Some friends from 3 are coming in now, they were on the train all night."

"Jodie, we can stay," I start and she shakes her head.

"Go home, Gale." She takes a shaky breath and wipes her face with the back of her hand. "I'll be okay. I.. I want some time with him, alone." Madge swallows thickly, struggling to keep her tears in. I am as well. "They're going to be here in about thirty minutes. Go," She says again. Madge moves forward and gives Jodie another tight hug, and tells her something that I can't hear. I do exactly the same.

"We'll be right next door if you need anything." I tell her gently, and Jodie nods.

"I know," She whispers, "Thank you both for making his last few months enjoyable." I smile weakly at her, before Madge and I turn and trudge out of the hospital. As soon as we're in my truck, Madge breaks down into sobs.

I push the middle console up and immediately pull her body into my arms. Her body shakes with sobs and she can't stop. My own tears drip onto her head and her hand fists into my shirt. She trembles, and she sobs, and she cries, and I can't do anything to help her except hold her as tight as I can. "Shh, baby, it's okay. Madge, baby, don't cry." I murmur, and kiss her hair. "It was just his time, Madge, we can't do anything about it. It's okay. Jodie's going to be okay."

She cries a little longer, before finally sniffling and looking up at me. Her eyes are puffy and red, and I know that there are more tears behind them. "I'm going to drive home, now. We can go back to bed, okay?" She sniffles again, and wipes her face. The entire ride home tears stream down her face, and I just force myself to pay attention to the road, and not crack yet.

When we arrive home, I just pick her up out of the car and carry her inside. I deposit her on our bed, and immediately she starts crying again. I hold her in my lap and stroke her hair and kiss her temple, all while crying myself. My shirt becomes wet with tears. Every time I think she's done, she looks at me and then it starts all over again.

She cries herself to sleep. I follow soon after.

The funeral is a week later. It gave time for friends of the elderly couple to get in, and time for Jodie to recover a little. She's over the night before. We try to make it seem that it's going to be okay, but we're all out of it. Madge was having problems trying to cook something, and Jodie was so distraught she was hardly able to help.

At the funeral, Madge doesn't release her grip on my hand. It's a very small funeral, with only a few friends. We stand right behind Jodie while people go up and speak a few words about Atticus. Madge, who's usually the one good with words, stumbles through the small amount of sentences that she had prepared. I'm able to get through it clearly, and Madge latches herself onto me as soon as she can again.

Atticus's body is lowered to the ground, and one of Jodie's friends holds onto Jodie while it happens. Madge tries to watch it, but she ends up burying her face in the side of my chest. I watch it all happen. This hurts me way more than I'm letting on. When my father died, we didn't even have anything to bury. Just a tombstone to place in the ground.

My eyes scan the stone: Loving Friend and Husband. Will always be remembered. Madge sniffles next to me, tightening her grip on my side. I kiss her hair lightly, before resting my cheek on top of her head. Jodie wipes her face as we all recede from the grave. She comes next to the two of us, and gives up both great big hugs.

Madge gives the older woman a weak smile, and then another hug. "It's going to be okay, Jodie."

Jodie nods. "I know." She wipes her face again. "Maybe not now, but maybe in a few months."

I reach out to Jodie and give her another hug. "We'll see you Sunday night?" Jodie laughs shakily, before nodding.

"Of course you will."

It takes a while, but things slowly return to a sense of normality. Madge and I grow closer together than ever. Jodie starts smiling again, and more often. She comes over every Sunday night, and helps us cook dinner. She's still sad, and she has a right to be, but she's getting better. Jodie visits Atticus' grave every Sunday before she comes over and tells him everything that's happened that week. She misses him, we all do, but it's going to be okay. Everything usually turns out okay, sometimes better than before.

Two Years Later:

I cannot stop fidgeting. I've been thinking about this all day, even during all of my meetings. I have been distracted during work, I've messed up defense mechanisms, and thinking today has just been a big no.

All the way home from work I can't sit still, and when I get home, I find Madge is already in the shower. We're going out tonight, for date night, and I'm taking her to a fantastic place that's a little further out in the district, but still close enough to our apartment.

I hurry back to our bedroom and quickly pull off my jacket. I sit on the bed and pull of my shoes and socks when the shower shuts off. I tug my shirt over my head as Madge waltzes through the room with a towel wrapped around herself. I groan at her, before crossing the expanse of the room. "Sweet God, Madge,"

She giggles when I start sucking lightly on her exposed neck. She leans her head back so I can get more access and she groans. My fingers start to pull the towel away from her skin and she pushes my hand away. "Gale,"

"Hm?" I murmur, fingers still itching to pull the towel away.

"We're going to be late." She forces out breathlessly while I continue to kiss her neck.

I groan and finally pull myself away from her, "Fine." If tonight wasn't so important, I would just pull her into bed and forget the damn reservation, but we kind of have to get going. She fixes her towel that I skillfully messed up and shoves me into the bathroom while laughing at me.

Once I'm done showering, I hurry back into the room to find Madge dressed and putting on some makeup. I pull on my clothing before crossing to her again.

"This is the sexiest dress I've ever seen," I murmur to her, running my hands down her sides. She blushes profusely. It's not even that it's revealing or anything, it's just the fact that she's the one wearing it, and shelooks absolutely amazing in anything. It's some deep blue thing that makes her eyes look even bluer than they already are. "You look beautiful." I tell her, kissing her cheek. She blushes again and I smirk, returning to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

"Even if I'm going with one arm?" I hear her call, and I furrow my brows. I finish brushing my teeth and go back into the bedroom.

"What the hell are you talking about, Madge?" Even after a few years, she still feels insecure about going out in public with one arm. I return to her and she turns around to face me.

"You know that.. That people stare at me, Gale."

I brush a curl out of her eyes and pull her hips towards me. "It doesn't matter, babe. They don't matter; it's just about the two of us tonight, okay?" She nods a little and I peck her mouth. "And if it helps, Madge, the only reason I'm staring at you is because you look like this." She bursts red again and I snicker. "C'mon, we're gonna be late."

Twenty minutes later, we're sitting in a booth at the restaurant. Madge is all smiles and extremely happy, and I couldn't be happier. There aren't many people in the restaurant, as we're in pretty early. Yes, Madge gets some stares because of her arm, but she ignores it, and doesn't let it bother her.

By the time we're having dessert, I can't sit still. And Madge definitely notices. "What's wrong with you tonight, Gale?"

I chuckle nervously. "You make me nervous?" I tease and she kicks me slightly under the table.

"No, really."

I think for a second. "Your beauty makes me nervous?" She blushes and I laugh. I pay quickly and then we hurry out of the restaurant. Madge said that she wanted to walk around the old part of District 2, so after we leave we walk around for about an hour, occaiosionally stopping in a store and looking around. We find some really weird things and Madge always makes me try them on. Either hats or scarves or whatever she manages to find, I willingly put it on and she laughs at me. Then I kiss her to get her to shut up and we move to the next store. And the cycle repeats over and over again.

We reach an old fountain with hundreds of coins in the bottom of the water. I hand her a coin. "Make a wish. Apparently they all come true." She rolls her eyes, and attempts to throw it in. I swat her hand. "Not like that," She rolls her eyes.

"Well then how am I supposed to throw the coin in?" I grin and drop my mouth to her ear.

"Close your eyes. Think on it a minute, then toss it in. Listen for the drop in the water. Then open your eyes again." She rolls her eyes.

"You're making a big deal out of a wish."

I grumble at her and roll my eyes. "Just do it."

She rolls her eyes again at me but does as she's told. While she's standing there, I fumble with the box in my pocket before dropping down to one knee. "I feel really stupid," She tells me and I snicker.

"Then open your eyes." She turns at my voice and her eyelids flutter open. It takes her a moment to register what's going on until her blue eyes widen even more.

"Gale..."

"Shush." I say, taking her hand into mine. "You know I'm not good at making elaborate speeches, but hell, I'm going to try for you." She snickers at me and her eyes search mine. "Madge, when I first knew you back in District 12, I thought you were the biggest snob in the world." She laughs weakly at my attempt for humor, and I smile a little at her. "But, as I got to know you, I figured out that you were much more than that. Sure, sometimes you really aggravated me, and made me feel really stupid, but that doesn't matter because you always made up for it by making me laugh, or doing something that can make me feel better. Madge, the last few years have been hard. We both know that. But we've gotten through it all, and for some odd reason you've stuck with me."

She laughs again and I fumble with the box again. My eyes don't leave hers. "I've known for a while now that I've wanted to marry you, and finally, I plan to do just that. I want to marry you, and I want to wake up to you every morning, not just as my girlfriend, but as my wife. I want to be with you through everything, and help you through everything and I want to start a family with you, and basically Madge I want to do everything with you." Her eyes tear a little bit and I smile at her. "I love you with everything I have, and I want you to be my wife. Madge Undersee, will you marry me?"

At first she starts laughing and I think that I've done something wrong. "What?" I ask and she starts laughing, before pulling me off of my knee. I furrow my brows. Then, she launches herself on her toes so she can kiss me. I laugh into her mouth and wrap my arms around her waist, lifting her off of the ground. I can feel her tears on my face and she smiles through the kiss. When I finally put her down, my fingers brush her hair and tears off of her face, while my other arm remains firmly around her waist.

"You're an idiot." She finally says, pressing on her toes to kiss me again.

I laugh a little nervously, considering she hasn't given me an answer yes. "And why am I an idiot?"

She fiddles with the hair on the back of my neck, and smiles. "It took you a while." I swat her cheek and pull out the box again, before opening it.

"So what do you say? Will you be my wife?"

She blushes and I nuzzle her neck a little. "A million times yes, Gale." She finally says, and I smile widely at her, before my trembling hand slides the ring onto her fingers. Madge lets out a watery laugh and kisses me again. "I love you,"

"I love you more," I tell her, returning the kiss. I lift her off of the ground and she squeaks. "I know we're young, Madge, but," She cuts me off by kissing me again.

"I don't care. We're getting married, Gale." I rest my hands on her hips again, and pull her close to me.

"And I honestly can't wait. We can have a long engagement, since you're only twenty-two, though."

She rolls her eyes. "But not too long." I smirk and press my lips against her once more. She smiles at me, and pulls me closer. "I can't wait."

Ten Months Later:

My mother is going insane. She will not stop worrying about what's going to go wrong in the ceremony, or that someone is going to mess something up, and she even resorts to fixing all of my clothing for the tenth time.

"Ma, will you calm down? Everything's going to go smoothly."

She fiddles with my collar again and looks up at me exasperately. "You're getting married, Gale! Aren't you in the slightest bit worried?"

"No," I lie. In truth, I'm completely going out of my mind. I know that I should be over the moon that I'm finally marrying the girl of my dreams, and I definitely am, it's just the fact that it's finally going to be official, after all these years of being together.

My mother can see right through my lie. "Gale," I groan and pull away from her. I glance at myself quickly in the mirror before turning back to her.

"What if.. What if she changes her mind? What do I do then?"

"You're ridiculous. She's not going to change your mind, Gale. You two are completely inseparable, which I'll admit was annoying back in 12." I grin sheepishly at her, and my mom continues. "You two are perfect for each other, everyone could see that, and we all still can. She's just as in love with you as you are with her." I roll my eyes at her and she swats me.

"It's not.. It's not that I'm nervous. It's just that I'm..."

"Nervous," My mom finishes, and I nod at her. "Your father was the same way. He told me, a little after you were born. He said that he thought I was going to back out of the marriage and just leave him." I snort. "I didn't and everything was okay. You and Madge are going to be just fine." Her eyes twinkle and I raise a brow. "And I expect a few grandchildren."

"Ma!" I groan, pulling away from her while she laughs. "Way to ruin the sentimental moment." She laughs and gives me a tight hug.

"My little boy. All grown up and getting married." I groan again, but return the hug.

When she releases me, she wipes her tears away. "You need to get down there now. Thom is probably waiting for you; I need to go check on Madge." She gives me a quick kiss before shooing me out of the room. I think about Madge for a moment. She said that she didn't mind we were as young as we are, she's only twenty-three now, and I'm only twenty-five, as we have lots of time to have children and such, but I know that her parents (if they were alive) would probably scold me. My mom refused to let us stay together last night, as it's bad luck or something. All I wanted to do was have her in my arms one more night as an engaged couple, but my mom was not having it.

I meet up with Thom and he snorts at me. "You're really going through with this, huh?" I shove him. "Hey, I'm just saying." While I glare at him, he just cackles at me.

"Hey I'll be doing the same thing when you and Bristel tie the knot." He flushes and I smirk at him. "Which I'm assuming is soon, by the look on your face." He flushes even more and I clap him on the back.

Then, I'm being escorted down the aisle while everyone stares at me. The rest of the bridal party follows, and I find myself more distracted as the people slowly get to the front of the church. I just want to see Madge, and then finally get married to her. I look around the small church and find Jodie in the crowd. She was one of the first people I told before I proposed to Madge. She winks at me, before slowly standing for the bride.

And that's when the breath is knocked out of me completely. I am literally unable to comprehend what I'm seeing. I can practically feel myself fill with euphoria and complete bliss. When later asked to describe the feeling I felt when I saw her, I was unable too. Try thinking of the most amazing thing you've ever seen. Then, multiply that by about one thousand. You still won't get close to what it feels like seeing someone you're so in love with walk down the aisle. She's literally perfect. Everything about her is perfect. My eyes don't know where to settle, I want to see every inch of her at once.

My eyes latch onto hers, and I almost melt right then. She looks nervous as well, but as soon as we make eye contact, both of our worries disappear instantly.

Her eyes stay on me the whole time she walks down the aisle to me and I can feel my jaw slowly dropping as she gets closer. I try to keep my eyes on hers, but when she looks the way she does and when she's wearing a dress that makes me want to disappear into our apartment for days, it's pretty hard.

When she finally reaches me, my jaw is on the floor. I'll admit that my eyes were a little wet. I mean, c'mon. It's finally happening. She blushes when I wink at her and I kiss her knuckles slowly. She doesn't have her prosthetic on. Madge said that she wanted to be herself when she got married, which included only having one arm. I said I would love it no matter what she wore.

I don't mind, though. She's extremely gorgeous no matter what.

"You're so beautiful," I mouth to her and she blushes some more. I smirk a little.

Honestly, I tried to pay attention during the ceremony, but I really just couldn't get past the thought that in only a little bit of time Madge and I are going to be bound together for as long as we both live.

Ours vows are said to each other. They're the mandatory ones, but we're saying other ones later when we're alone with just each other. Even as I say the ones that the priest gives me, Madge tears up at my voice.

I nearly screw up in placing the ring on her finger, and she giggles at me.

"With this ring, I wed thee." I recite, and Madge gives me a soft smile.

She repeats the words to me, and all I want to do is kiss her right now, but I know my mom would probably slap me for messing up the ceremony or something.

Finally, the very old priest looks at the two of eyes, eyes twinkling. I can't stand still. "And by the power vested of me and the Republic of Panem, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Immediately, my arms wrap around Madge and our lips find each others. I hold onto her tightly and our mouths move together, our first kiss as a married couple. I hear a catcall from the church and I know that it was Rory, but frankly I couldn't care at all.

Madge squeaks into my mouth when I tug her closer to me, and I smile widely. Her cheeks are wet, but she's laughing.

I barely hear the priest speak next. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne." When I hear the clapping, Madge and I finally pull away from one another, but we stay close. Her nose bumps mine and her arm stays wrapped around my neck. There's no one else in the room, just the two of us. Me and my wife. God I love the sound of that.

"Hear that Madge?" I murmur and she laughs at me, "We're married."

Two Hours Later:

Madge and I are eventually pulled up to the front of the reception hall so we can cut the cake together.

We place our hands together, and I give her a quick peck on the lips before we slice it together. I swipe some icing onto my finger and look at her.

"Gale, no!" Madge protests immediately, but laughs when I smear it over her cheek. It gets a chuckle from the crowd watching us.

"I'm your husband now, I can do that." She rolls her eyes that have a wonderful sparkle to them when I kiss the icing off of her cheek. We feed each other the small pieces of cake, an intimate gesture, before other people flock to the cake. I manage to tug Madge away quickly, thinking that we might get a few moments too ourselves, when Haymitch makes his way over. I groan, and roll my eyes.

"Congratulations you two. Finally tied the knot. We all thought it was never going to happen." My arm snakes around Madge's waist, and she leans into me, smiling at Haymitch.

"Well we did," She says, her hand gripping onto my suit tightly.

He's quiet for a second, fingering the wine glass he's holding. I'm not sure if he should have anymore alcohol.

"Your parents would be proud of you, Madge. Very proud." Madge stiffens momentarily, but then relaxes and smiles.

"I know."

"Your mother would be a wreck and your father would probably threaten him," Haymitch looks me straight in the eye. "You hurt her in any way, I'm circumcising you." Madge laughs heartily and my eyes widen.

I choke out, "You won't be needing to do that, Haymitch." Haymitch laughs loudly at my discomfort, before staggering back to his table.

Eventually, Madge and I are forced onto the dance floor to dance for the first time as husband and wife. Honestly, I don't see why this is a big deal, but I diligently go anyways, because I know it makes Madge happy.

My hands rest on her waist, and hers rests on my shoulder. We don't exactly dance, it's more of a swaying to the music, but I don't mind.

I press my lips to Madge's forehead and she blushes, looking around at all the people watching us.

"Gale," She murmurs, and I grin. She's quiet for a second. "Gale are you happy?"

My brows furrow for a second, but then my features soften.

"Of course I am, Madge." I reply, smiling down at my wife. "I married the girl of my dreams, and we're spending the rest of our lives together." Madge bursts red and the knotting sensation that never goes away grows larger. I'm extremely happy. There's no one else in the world that I'd rather be with, she's it.

We waltz around the small dance floor for a little bit before Haymitch pulls my mother onto the floor with him. Soon, Katniss and Peeta, and then Bristel and Thom. Vick pulls Posy onto the floor and my goofy siblings dance around the room. Rory drags Prim with him. They're both blushing like crazy, and I nudge Madge. She smirks, before standing on her toes to kiss me lightly. I smile into the kiss.

The two of us observe the room and watch all of our loved ones interact and laugh with each other. My mother even seems to be enjoying talking to Haymitch. Thom's telling Bristel something that's making her laugh, and Peeta and Katniss are lost in each others eyes. My siblings laugh with each other, and Vick teases Rory behind his back.

"Are you happy?" I ask Madge, and she smiles.

"More than you'll ever understand." I kiss my wife again and she grins.

I breathe against her, "You look so goddamn beautiful. I don't even..." She flushes and I smile again, pecking her mouth. "I can't wait to be with you for the rest of my life." I murmur, and her cheeks flush deeper.

"Me either."

Several Hours Later:

My arms scoop Madge up when we pull into the driveway of our apartment. "Gale," She laughs, her hand gripping onto my collar to keep herself from falling. Her golden hair tumbles over her shoulders and I smile. "What are you doing?"

"Well, it's tradition to carry the bride over the new threshold, isn't it?" I smirk and she blushes, resting against me. I unclick the lock before pushing the door open with my foot. We cross the threshold together, Once inside, I lock the door again, before walking over to the couch.

"Gale," She repeats again, softer than before. "What..."

Her eyes land on the small living room as I deposit her onto the couch. The fire's roaring in front of us, and there's a plate of bread on the coffee table. "I know you wanted a toasting, since we weren't going back to 12. So, we're going to have a toasting." She tries to slide out from my lap, but my arms grip around her waist. She squeaks and I smile into her neck. I move towards the ground, closer to the fire.

I cut two pieces off of the bread and hand her one. "Peeta?" She asks, grinning.

I roll my eyes playfully, but nod. "Yes, it was Mellark." She giggles at me, and motions towards the fire. "On three?" She nods. We toss the bread in on three, and then wait. I press kisses down her neck and she squirms in my lap. I grin against her neck and her head falls back.

"Gale," She murmurs, and I smile again. "The bread," She pants and I roll my eyes.

I grab the pair of tongs, and pull the scorching hot pieces of bread out of the fire and placing them on the plate once again. We wait for a few seconds, before I take one in my hands, and give her the other one. "Ready?" I ask, and she nods quickly, turning around in my lap to face me.

She feeds me the piece that she's holding, before I feed her the other one. Once we've swallowed, by lips find hers and we kiss, bonding the promise. I drop my voice so only she is able to hear me. "I vow to kiss you every morning and night."

Her eyes brighten when she realizes that I've started. "I vow to not squeal when I see a spider."

I laugh heartily. "I vow to kill all the spiders for you."

"I vow to keep the house clean."

"I vow to help you clean it," My hand finds hers and I twist the rings around her finger. My other arm wraps around her waist, keeping her warmth close to me.

Madge pauses for a moment, before brushing her lips over mine. I try to capture them again, but she pulls away too quickly. "I vow to help you through whatever happens."

I grumble. "That was mine." I had thought of a list many times before now, and now that it's actually happening all thoughts are slipping through my fingers like wind. I can only focus on Madge, Madge, and more Madge. "I vow to love you through everything."

"I vow to tell you I love you all the time." She pauses and tightens her grip on me. "I love you." I laugh and kiss her quickly. This time, I'm the one that pulls away first, and she pouts.

I think for a moment, before resting my forehead onto hers. "I vow to never even think about letting you go." She smiles at me and swats my cheek. She knows that I would never cheat on her; I've loved her too long and too much to even look at another girl. "And, I vow that you will always be the only woman in my life. There is no one else that can make me feel the way you do." She flushes, her cheeks and neck and chest lighting up with pink and I grin at her.

"I vow to be the best wife I can be, the best mother I can be, and the best anything I can be." My ears perk when she mentions mother.

I kiss her neck slowly. "I don't need the best, Madge. I just need you." I pause and our noses brush. "I vow to love out children, when we have them." I smile when she says when instead of if.

I pull her into my lap more and her legs slide over my hips and latch behind me. "I love you," I murmur, kissing her, "So," another kiss, "Goddamn," kiss, "Much." She giggles as I burn kisses down her throat.

"And I love you. I love the way you hold me at night and I love the way that I can fall asleep to your heartbeat so easily and I love how you help me whenever I need help and I love that you've stuck with me this long through all of the things that have gone on," Madge's voice catches when I nibble onto her ear, but she continues that long run-on sentence that she's created, "I love that you smell like apples and smoke and I love when you don't shave and I love that you tease me about silly things, and..." She trails off, and I look up at her slightly. Blue latches onto grey and her voice shakes.. "And, I just love you."

To reply to that, I force myself off of the ground. Her eyes twinkle and I kiss her slowly. "I love you too. And I have the rest of our lives to say it. My hands tighten my grip on her. "You're my wife, Madge."

She giggles, hand resting on the buttons on my shirt. "And you're my husband." My heart races just with her saying those words. I scoop her up again, before carrying her through our home, lit by firelight into our bedroom. "What about the fire?" She squeaks when her dress falls to the ground.

I shrug, holding her against my body. "Eh, I'll get it later." She laughs, and the two of us start the next chapter of our lives together, safe and sound.

Three Years Later:

I wake very early one Sunday morning to find Madge rushing out of bed and into the bathroom.

"Madge?" I groan groggily, "Babe?" I pull myself out of bed and follow her, only to find her head over the toilet. "Holy shit," I murmur, before hurrying over and pulling her hair back out of her face. Her hand clutches the edge of the toilet, knuckles turning white. She pukes repeatedly and I hold her hair back and rub her back slowly. When she's done, she sits back, and I hand her a towel. Madge wipes her mouth, and leans back against my chest. I press my cheek against her forehead, and then shake my head.

"You don't have a fever," I tell her, and she goes to respond, before starting to puke again. "Oh, Madge," I murmur, holding her hair back again. Finally, when she finishes, she leans back against me. I brush the hair out of her face and kiss her temple. "You feel alright?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. I guess. The feeling passed." I flush the toilet before resting against the wall. She leans against me again.

"You done?" I ask her, and she nods slowly, but doesn't move. "I know that face," I murmur, gesturing to her. Her eyebrows are creased, and there's that little u in between them. She's thinking about something. "What are you thinking?"

Madge is quiet for a few moments, but then speaks. "Do you think.. Do you think I'm pregnant?" My brows furrow immediately.

"What?" I finally say and she chews on her lip momentarily.

"Do you think I'm pregnant?"

I divert my eyes from hers and look up at the ceiling, before back at her. "I don't know."

"Because I know morning sickness is one of the first signs of it, and,"

"Madge, I.. I don't know." That's all I want to hear from her. That she's pregnant. We held off on having children for the first couple years of our marriage, as we're both pretty young. But the past year, we've been trying. There have been incidents where we thought Madge was pregnant, but it had turned out to be nothing. It hurts, every time that nothing's happened, I mean. I don't want to get our hopes up.

"I've felt different," She insists, and I sigh.

"You know I want children, Madge." She nods, and her fingers curl in my shirt. "This happens every time, though. You think you are, but then you aren't. And it hurts both of us. Maybe... Maybe we can't, Madge. Maybe we can't have kids." Her eyes flash with recognizable pain and fear and immediately I take back my words. "It could just be taking a while, I don't know."

I pause and she wipes her face off. "I want children so badly, Gale." She shifts into my lap and my arms wrap around her.

"I do too,"

She buries her face into my chest. "What if we can't? What do we do then?"

I shrug and sigh. "Adopt? I don't know."

"I want them to be ours, though." She mumbles and I kiss her hair.

"We'll go get tested, in a couple days. Okay?"

Immediately my wife's eyes widen, and she shakes her head. "Gale, no—"

"I know you're scared of what's going to happen," I murmur, forcing her to look at me, "But it's been almost a year, Madge, that we've been trying. I... I want to know for sure."

Finally, she nods. "Okay," She pauses and her fingers clutch into my shirt, "Whatever happens, Gale, know.. Know that I'm going to love you no matter what."

I crack a smile and kiss her quickly. "I don't have to worry about that."

Three days later, I leave work early so we can go to the doctor's office. We're brought to the Fertility Ward and then put into a little room with a ton of scary-looking machines that make Madge curl into my side.

A pleasant woman comes into the room and smiles at us warmly. She gives us the lowdown on what we could do to increase our chances of conceiving, or asks us if we want to test.

"Test," Madge says quickly and the woman nods, and takes each of us separately for testing.

"The results should be ready in about thirty minutes, because of the technology that has been donated to us. Do you mind waiting?" I shake my head since Madge is incapable of speaking at the moment.

My thumb runs over Madge's hand while we wait for the results. She's nervous. She's twitching in my grasp and keeps looking everywhere but me. "It's gonna be okay," I murmur to her and she sighs, leaning back against me.

"I'm scared."

"And you have every right to be. We don't know what's going to happen." I reply, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

We wait much longer than thirty minutes. Thirty minutes pass, then forty-five. Finally, an hour. The forty-five mark is about when I start pacing around the room.

Madge sits in the chair, chewing her lip and tugging on her hair. I hadn't been nervous until it took this long.

"What if something went wrong?" Madge finally says, and I sit down next to her.

"Maybe the result machine went down, I don't know. It's probably not us." I reassure her, taking her hands and kissing her knuckles. Just at that moment, the doctor comes in, and we look up quickly.

Her face says nothing. She's holding a clipboard, and sits back down in the chair before looking at us. Her eyes are unable to give anything away, and my heart bumps uncomfortably in my chest.

My hand finds Madge's under the table, and she squeezes quickly. I'm shaking.

The nurse takes a breath, "We apologize for the long wait, there were some complications. Mrs. Hawthorne?" Madge looks at the woman nervously, and bites her lip to prevent herself from starting to cry, even if good news is coming our way. "Are you... Are you aware that you are already pregnant?" All of the wind is knocked out of me completely.

"W-what?" Madge finally says, and my eyes drop to her stomach as soon as I hear her voice.

"You have already conceived, as of two months ago, I believe." The doctor tries to hide her smile, but is unable too. I'm in complete shock, actually. "I'll leave you two for a little bit."

As soon as the nurse is gone, Madge throws herself at me and sits right down on my lap. "Gale!" My eyes finally find hers, and when I see the great smile on my wife's face, a smile breaks onto mine.

A feeling of complete and utter euphoria and serenity fills me, from my head all down to the tips of my toes. My hands wrap around her waist and pull her face down to me. Madge laughs into my mouth, her hands fisting into my shirt.

I tighten my grip on her, and press our lips together over and over again; we're both full of happiness. Our kisses are sloppy and unceremonial because we're smiling too much. I press her body against mine quickly, before pulling away. "Oh, god, I don't want to hurt it," I start, my fingers running over her stomach. There's nothing there now, but I know in a few months, weeks even, there will be.

"You won't," Madge replies, her hand finding mine. I can't keep my smile away and I kiss my beautiful wife again, one who's blessed me with everything I have, and everything I'm going to have.

10 months later:

We were given a beautiful baby boy, who I know is going to act just like I did when I was younger.

We named him Noah. He's a spitting image of me, except has Madge's eyes, and some freckles that somehow show over his darker skin. He's definitely a crier, but once he falls asleep, he's out like a light.

The first few nights at home were rough, I'll admit that. Neither of us slept, as every time Noah started to cry both of us would hop up out of bed to see what was wrong. I've been peed on a few times, and both of us have been spit up on several times. Eventually, Madge became so tired she was sleeping though his cries, and I would have to wake her up when he wanted her.

Watching Madge interact with our son is really the most inspiring thing ever. Here's a girl who's defied everything that's been thrown at her, and somehow manages to be as happy as she can be. Noah loves her almost as much as I do. Almost.

He holds onto her fingers and makes gurgling noises that make Madge laugh. His eyes are full of wonder and amazement at the world before him, and it's wonderful to watch him experience it.

My family came in about two months after Noah was born, and almost immediately my mother captured her grandson and kept him close to her. Rory and Vick congratulate me with a smile. Post adores the baby. Madge and I are just happy for a break, honestly. We're both so tired, but extremely happy.

Jodie loves Noah as if he was her own son. I come home sometimes to find her watching the baby while Madge sleeps on the couch, still in close contact in case needed.

One night, I wake to his cries. I look over at Madge to find her still fast asleep. My turn, I guess. I peel Madge's body away from mine and cross the room to the cradle.

I lift his tiny body gently and rest the bundle in my arms, rocking him gently.

Noah swaddles in my arms for a few seconds before his cries finally turn to small mews, like a kitten would have.

I grin tiredly and run my thumb over his small, smooth cheek. "Just lonely?" I murmur and Noah gurgles, his whole fist grasping around my thumb. I chuckle a little and bounce the bundle up and down.

His blue eyes gaze up and me and I gaze down at him. I'm not sure if he honestly knows who I am yet. He definitely knows who Madge is, as she spends every waking minute with him, but I don't really know about me. "I'm your dad," I murmur, and Noah continues to stare at me, but he keeps his fist wrapped around my thumb. "And you're going to be spoiled rotten." My son gurgles again and I crack a grin.

He finally falls asleep once again, and I kiss his forehead before gently setting him back in his cradle. I hurry back to our bed, and Madge curls around me again.

"You're an amazing dad, y'know." She mumbles, burying her face into my chest, and I chuckle, glancing back over to the cradle where our son sleeps.

"And you're a phenomenal mother," I reply, kissing my wife's forehead.

4 years later:

I hear a shriek from the backyard and I hurry out there only to find my two children wrestling on the ground. I roll my eyes, but cross the yard to them. I pick Noah off of my daughter and throw him over my shoulder.

"Daddy!" Audrey says, looking up at me. I chuckle at her while Noah struggles to get out of my grasp.

"Audrey!" I reply, grinning when she puts her hands on her hips. She reminds me so much of her mother. She's only two years old and already has an attitude.

My daughter raises her arms and I pick her up too, spinning around with both of my children on my shoulders. They say that they don't like it when I mess around with them, but I know for a fact they do. They squeal and screech and laugh and I can't help but grin at their childish play.

I collapse onto the grass and my kids climb on top of me, breathless and grinning.

"We pinned you!" Noah grins, and Audrey laughs at me, her messy blonde hair tickling my face.

"Oh really," I say, and pretend to struggle against their weight. I fall back on the ground. "It's no use; you two are just too strong for me." The children giggle at me before standing up and dancing around together in our backyard.

We eventually moved out of the apartment and into a larger house. We made sure to stay close to Jodie, because frankly we would miss her. She still comes over on Sunday nights to see us, and it's very obvious that she's not slowing down anytime soon.

"Gale Hawthorne if you aren't careful someday they will actually get you!" Speaking of Jodie, there she is. She's sitting in the rocking chair on our back porch, a glass of iced tea in her hands.

I chuckle and climb the steps. "They're pretty young, I have a few years on them." Jodie laughs and sips on her tea watching the two run around the yard.

"They're lovely children," She says, tipping her head at them. "Noah's exactly like you. And Audrey's already like Madge."

"But filled with so much more sass than Madge," I reply, chuckling. I watch as Noah pulls Audrey into a mud puddle that I need to clean up and groan. Audrey starts crying, but then Noah immediately tries to fix it.

"What about me?" My wife's voice comes from behind me and I turn to find her wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. She looks out at our kids splashing each other with mud. "You're on bath duty tonight," She smirks, glancing at me. I roll my eyes.

"You're lucky I love you and them." I reply and Jodie chuckles. I wrap my arms around Madge from behind and rest them on her belly. She's growing everyday, honestly. Our third child is due in a few months, and I couldn't be happier. We decided that three children is almost more than we can handle, and we'd stick with the three we had.

Jodie goes inside for a few minutes and I take the time to kiss Madge lightly. Damn strawberries. "I love you," I murmur, and she smiles gently at me.

"I love you more," She replies, laughing when I scoff at her. Our two kids notice that their mother is outside and they come running towards her, Audrey struggling to keep up with her older brother on her tiny legs.

They both give Madge great mud-filled hugs, and she laughs, crouching down slowly and giving them hugs as well. "You two are a mess," She tells them, and they giggle at each other.

"We made something!"

"Did you now?" Madge asks, grinning at them and they start to tug her towards the mud puddle. Madge rests her hand on her belly momentarily before each of them take one of her hands. She rolls her eyes at me and smiles, but allows our children to pull her away.

I stand at the railing, watching my wife and children interact. I chuckle when they hand Madge a mud pie. My heart swells with pride and happiness watching them.

Audrey rests her hands on Madge's belly for a moment, before both children rest their hands there, most likely feeling for their brother or sister. What they don't know is what gender the baby is going to be. Madge and I do, but we aren't telling them.

My mind strays to my family back in 12, how Rory and Prim are getting married this year and how my mother is worried about losing all of her children. I find that impossible, as she comes in to 2 nearly all the time to see us and her grandchildren. Thom and Bristel are having their second child in about a month, and Katniss and Peeta are expecting their first in a few. They're all getting along well, and Katniss and Peeta are much better, but as always, they're recovering.

As for me and Madge, well, sometimes I still get those attacks, and Madge sometimes wakes up screaming from her memories of the war or her family. Sometimes she swears she can still feel her arm.

In a few years we'll get questions from our children about these events, why I'm sometimes paralyzed in fear or why Madge only has one real arm, or even why there are monuments all over the district. They'll wonder about their aunts and uncles and why they're the way there are. They'll wonder about everything. And we're going to have to explain it to them, when the time comes. Noah's already asked about Madge's arm and why we don't see her parents. I would give anything for her parents to see us now, living happily with our children.

But for now, we can only remain the way we are, and hope for the best. Things have been difficult, yes, but the sun has always shown through the rough times.

Jodie returns back outside and stands next to me. "They're lucky people, to have you around I mean."

I chuckle and watch my wife kiss Audrey on the cheek, with Audrey successfully getting mud on Madge's face. "I'm a lucky man." I reply honestly.

Looking out my growing children and wife, and standing by Jodie, I know in that moment that everything was supposed to turn out this way. Maybe I didn't exactly know it for a while, but it's just the way it needs to be. Maybe it took a while to happen, but finally it's here, and I know that I couldn't be happier than I am now.

We've made it. And I guess that's what life really is about. Making it through the rough and the good times. Maybe it's just surviving through it all. That's what it is for some people. Just surviving. But for me, it's about living.

A/N: So the end has been reached! Huzzah! Huge thanks to andinify for reading through this before I posted it, I can't thank you enough. Thank you for all your support throughout the writing of this story, and for sticking with me through the breaks I would take on it. I finally finished it, and I'm very happy with the outcome. I would love to know what you all think of the ending, and what happened. I'm working on the my other stories, and I soon hope to have another one posted, soon enough. Thank you once again!