It's been one week since Gale showed up. When we came back outside, he was gone, like I told him he should be. Peeta and I have gotten back into our routine, trying our best to forget about the unpleasant visit from my former friend.

Two days ago we went into the District for my checkup. We had an ultrasound done, and everything with our baby is looking great. We're holding off on finding out the sex for now, but Peeta thinks it's a girl. At least he's hoping it is.

Today we're out hunting. I'm using my dad's old bow, the bow I've used for years. Peeta is using his bow. I handcrafted it and gave it to him for his birthday three years ago. He cherishes it, and I helped him string it. He carved our initials into it, and I did the same with mine. Peeta really has become an excellent hunter, learning how to use his disadvantages to his advantage. After years, I have slowly taught him to walk quieter, picking out his steps carefully to avoid making noise. He's, over time, gotten much better.

Right now, we're tracking a ten-point buck. Peeta spotted him around dawn and we've been on his trail ever since. He keeps avoiding us, staying downwind. Every time I try to circle around, he somehow knows and scurries away. We split up an hour ago, Peeta hiking out way to the north to try and cut him off. If we can bag him, we'll have fresh venison for a while, not to mention a good looking set of antlers for the house.

I'm silently standing near a tree, listening intently. I hear the birds singing, the light rustle of the leaves in the wind, and some insects chirping. Then, I hear the very distinct sound of human footsteps. Peeta shouldn't be this close to me, and if he was, he would have whistled out our warning a long time ago, before I would be able to hear his feet. My reflexes kick in, and I knock an arrow and raise my bow to my eye line.

"Who's there?" I call out.

"Calm down, Catnip, it's just me."

Gale. Again. Great.

"I already asked you not to call me that," I snap. He comes out from behind a tree twenty feet in front of me. "I told you that you can call me Mrs. Mellark."

He laughs sarcastically.

"Soon I'll call you Mrs. Hawthorne," he snivels with an evil smirk.

I roll my eyes.

"Sure, sure, Gale, whatever you say."

"You are coming back with me to 2, be assured of that," he says confidently. He starts walking towards me slowly, his hands in his pockets. He seems relaxed.

I aim my bow at him.

"Stop right there Gale."

"Oh relax," he says casually.

"I'm serious, Gale, don't come an inch closer."

"You'd never shoot me Catnip."

Before I can do anything, or even yell at him for calling me that stupid nickname again, I feel the whoosh of an arrow passing by not six inches to the left of my head. It sails directly at Gale, the titanium arrowhead just clipping his earlobe, taking a sizeable chunk out of it and leaving it bloody.

"I believe my wife asked you to stop," I hear Peeta behind me. I glance over my shoulder and he already has another arrow knocked and aimed. He's walking with the slow, even gait I taught him that aids in shooting while moving.

"This doesn't concern you, baker boy," Gale spits.

"On the contrary," Peeta retorts, now standing next to me, "if you're bothering my wife, it certainly concerns me."

"She's not going to be your 'wife' for long!" Gale yells. Peeta rolls his eyes, I shake my head.

"Whatever, Gale," Peeta breathes, tired of his games.

"Catnip, are you really going to stay married to a guy who tried to kill you?" He looks at me, referring to Peeta's hijacking.

"Seriously, Gale?" I ask incredulously. "Not only was that years ago, but it wasn't the real Peeta, and he hasn't had an attack in months, over a year actually. Not that it's any of your damn business."

"Oh, so you obviously never told him about you and me," Gale says.

"What? Stop lying, Gale," I try to cut him off.

"Oh but it's true, Catnip."

"What's he talking about Kat?" Peeta asks me with concern.

"He's lying Peeta," I say gently. "You know he is."

"No I'm not baker boy. When you were in the Capitol, I was there for her. Who do you think comforted her? Kept her company at night? Kissed her?"

"Shut up Gale!" I scream. This is spiraling out of control, quickly.

I glance at Peeta and I can see his face contorting in pain. Oh god. No, no not now! His eyes start to darken. Gale obviously sees this, because the next words send Peeta over the edge.

"You never told him about our baby, Catnip?"

"MUTT!" Peeta screams. "You lying mutt!" He yells at me.

I quickly put my arrow back in my quiver and sling my bow over my shoulder. I could care less about Gale right now. Peeta dropped his bow long ago.

I turn to Peeta and grasp his shoulders. He hasn't touched me in anger once since he's been home from the Capitol, so I'm not afraid in the slightest. Even at his worst, he somehow knows not to harm me, no matter what insane, horrific things he's seeing.

"Peeta, honey, it's not real. Whatever you're seeing, it's not real. He's a liar. We're married. We've been married for almost five years. I love you, nobody else. We're having a baby together in a few months. A beautiful, perfect baby, and we're going to be a happy family. Come back to me baby, come back to me. Please."

I can see him fighting it, his eyes shifting colors, his face twisting in obvious hurt. I know he's trying to bring himself back.

"Not. Real," he whimpers.

"There you go baby, not real," I coax. "That's it, Peeta, come back to me."

I know there's one thing left for me to do to fully bring him back, and that's kiss him. Hard. I crash my lips into his and force my tongue into his mouth. He responds almost immediately, roughly, and after a few seconds I'm sure I have my husband back.

We break the kiss and I whisper against his lips.

"I love you."

He whispers it back.

Suddenly I feel a possessive, hard grip on my shoulder. Gale. I'd almost forgot he was here.

"Don't you see now Catnip? You can't raise a kid with this monster. He's unstable. He'll kill you and your baby. Come with me, I can keep you safe."

My rage is building, about to bubble over. I can see Peeta is angry, but I slightly shake him off, letting him know I will handle it. He nods almost imperceptibly and mouths 'always' to me. I mouth it back and smile.

In one swift move, I turn to Gale, grabbing his collar, getting as much fabric as I can. I reach behind me and grab the handle of my knife out of its sheath on my belt. I shove him backwards into the nearest tree, bringing the blade up against his throat. He looks stunned.

"What the fuck Gale?"

"I had to show you the truth," he tries.

"You think I didn't know about his attacks? You think I'm ignorant? We were doing great, until you showed up!"

"He's a monster, Catnip. A mutt. I can be a real husband to you."

I roll my eyes. This is getting old, quick.

"He's my husband, Gale. Look at him. No, I want you to look at him. He's a real man. He came back to me after the war, when he didn't even know if we loved each other. He conquered his demons to take care of me, putting me in front of him. What did you do? Ran off to 2 for some fancy military job! And now you think I'll just run away with you?"

"I was setting up our life, Catnip. I thought you figured that out," he's trying to look at me with love, but it just comes off super creepy. "I knew you'd marry him because he was here. I'm okay with that. We can go to the Justice Building and get you a divorce, then to the healer's so you can get an aborti-"

"Don't you dare finish that fucking word!" I scream.

"You really want to have a mutt child?" He sneers. "You know it's going to be a mutt. It's father's a mutt."

"Seriously, Gale, you keep talking like this, you're never leaving this forest alive. Give me one good reason I shouldn't open up your neck right now and watch you die with my husband holding my hand."

"You love me, Catnip."

I laugh, as does Peeta behind me.

"That's funny, Gale. Thanks for the good laugh. I never loved you. Maybe, once, as a brother, but I've been in love with Peeta for years. Probably ever since I was eleven to tell you the truth. Want to try again?"

"You won't commit murder," is his next argument.

"Really? Do you not remember I went through two Hunger Games and a damn rebellion? It's just us three out here. I could kill you and nobody would ever find your body, or what was left of it."

He swallows hard, and I see he's actually a little frightened. Good.

"Now, if I let you go, you're going to march back to 12, get on the first train out of here, and go back to 2. Find yourself a blonde bimbo who will eat up your bullshit, I don't care. But you will never bother us again. Got it?"

"No," he says defiantly.

"Fine. Peeta, give me your phone."

"Why?" Peeta asks.

"So I can call the mental institution in 8. Have them come pick this wacko up."

Peeta chuckles, but before he can hand me his phone, Gale speaks up.

"I actually see a psychiatrist in 2."

"Really?" He nods. "Peeta, grab Gale's phone out of his pocket."

Peeta comes up and fishes out Gale's phone. Gale tells him what his doctor is listed under, and Peeta makes the call, putting it on speakerphone.

"Mr. Hawthorne?" The doctor answers.

"Dr. Severin," Gale breathes. "I'm in a bit of a pickle."

"What's it now, Gale?"

"Well, I'm in 12, and Katniss has a knife to my throat."

The doctor sighs.

"I told you not to confront Ms. Everdeen until we progressed further, Gale."

"Mellark," I snap.

"I'm sorry, ma'am?"

"My name is Mrs. Mellark. I haven't been an Everdeen for almost five years."

"Apologies, Mrs. Mellark."

"Fine," I tell him.

"Gale, I thought we discussed the only reason you'd ever return to 12 would be to visit your family and maybe, maybe talk to Mrs. Mellark to get closure. Mrs. Mellark, may I ask you, how has his visit gone to come to this point?"

"He showed up last week," I explain. "I was home alone, and he thought I'd just run into his arms. Then he started screaming at me when he discovered that I'm married and pregnant. So I had to hit him to get him to leave. Then he showed up today while I was hunting with my husband, and caused my husband to have a relapse, trying to prove he was the better man or something. So I pulled a knife on him, trying to get him to see that I don't want anything to do with him."

The doctor sighs again, and takes a moment to digest what I've told him.

"Can you please take me off speakerphone so I can speak to Mrs. Mellark privately?"

"Peeta?" I prompt. Peeta nods and clicks it off speaker, holding it up to my ear.

"Mrs. Mellark, I am very sorry about this. I have been treating Gale for four years. Almost all of our visits are about you. He truly believes you are in love with him, no matter what I tell him. He believes you are only married out of necessity, and that you will run away with him if he asks you to."

"Is he crazy?" I ask, looking Gale in the eye. He actually looks hurt. Ha.

"No, not legally. He is fixated on you. I understand before the war you two were good friends?"

"Yes, we were."

"Were you ever romantic?"

"No."

"He has told me about a couple of kisses. Is that the furthest it progressed?"

"Yes."

He sighs deeply.

"Mrs. Mellark, once again I apologize. I thought we had progressed, but apparently I was mistaken. I must warn you and your husband that your rejection may cause him to become violent towards the two of you, especially your husband, who he sees as his competition."

"Great," I say sarcastically.

"Can you put me back on speaker now?"

"Peeta?" I look to him. He understands and clicks it back on speaker.

"Gale, who are you staying with there?"

"My mother," Gale answers, glaring at Peeta.

"Very well. When we finish this call, I want you to go back there, and call me. We need to have a serious discussion. Do you understand?"

"Yes, doctor," he says reluctantly.

"Good. Mrs. Mellark, do I have your permission to contact you at your home later this evening?"

"Certainly," I answer.

"Thank you. Once again, I apologize to you and your husband. I hope your day is better from now on."

"Thanks," I tell him. I motion for Peeta to end the call, and he puts the phone back in Gale's pocket.

"Well that was fun," I tell Gale sarcastically. "Now go home and call your doctor, Gale. I don't ever want to see your face again."

"I'll be back Catnip," he sneers.

I roll my eyes and knee him in the balls, hard.

"Still sore from last week?" I tease. "Probably doesn't even matter. I bet they're tiny anyways. Nothing like my husband's." I see Peeta blushing. He he. He'll get his reward for being a good boy once we get home.

Before I let Gale go, I press the blade a little harder into his neck, drawing a bit of blood.

"Seriously, Gale, I respect that you're getting treatment, but leave us the hell alone. We're trying to live our life, have a family in peace. If you were ever my friend, please just let us be."

He glares at me, his face filled with fury.

"This isn't the end," he warns.

I release him and shove him away from me.

"Just go, Gale."

He takes one last hard look at us, his gaze at Peeta filled with hate, and then trudges away. I sigh and run my hand through my hair.

Peeta takes me in his arms, wrapping them tightly around me.

"I'm sorry," I mumble into his chest.

"It's not your fault, honey," he assures me.

"Of course it is. He's here because of me," I tell him.

"No. He's here because he's a nut job." We both chuckle. "You didn't ask him to come, you don't want him here. Hence, not your fault."

"I still feel guilty," I admit.

He sighs.

"My girl, always taking the blame," he says with a smile.

"You do the same thing!" I accuse.

"Fair enough," he shrugs. We laugh.

"We lost that buck," I look around us.

"We'll find him sooner or later," Peeta says with confidence. "He can't hide from us forever. These are our woods, Kat."

"Yes they are. Let's go home, I want to cuddle with my husband and my baby."

"That sounds just about perfect," Peeta grins, leaning down to kiss me sweetly on the lips.

"I love you, Peeta, forever."

"I love you too, Katniss. Always."

We walk home hand in hand, hoping that's the last we've seen of Gale Hawthorne.

A/N: So I had been thinking about the next chapter of this story for a while, and this just popped in my head last night, so I wanted to write it. I know Gale is wayyyyyy OOC, but whatever. It's a fun, silly story. Let me know if you liked it, or want me to continue with more scenes.

For those of you who read "It Was A Lie", the next chapter of that story will be up later today.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!