It isn't that Annie doesn't love her son. No, no, her son is everything to her; her life, her light, her joy and her smiles. Amos is small and lean and light, already a wondrous swimmer, with blonde curls and blue eyes and a heart that warms up the darkest of nights.

It's just… he is so much, oh so much, like his father; that sometimes she'll cry in the middle of bath time, or slip into another round of 'craziness' while making dinner, or curl up in his bed and cling to him like a lifeline after reading him his story. It is what she is doing now, standing beside him and watching a squad of Liberation troops descend into the District for a routine set up – make sure the people are somewhat comfortable, see if there were any sightings of renegade peacekeepers, etc. She holds her son's small hand as he tries to chase snowflakes, and clenches her jaw at the sight of the black uniforms that once signified Rebels, and now signifies the new government. She watches them spread out, battling memories in her mind, memories of Finnick – which still feel so vivid even after all these years, is that normal? – and after several minutes turns away to take Amos home.

"Annie?"

It's the voice that stops her, slightly familiar, enough so that she pauses and turns back around. A voice from the past, one that had whispered reassurances in the Capitol prisons, informed her of her husband's death, wished her farewell upon her return home. It's the voice of the Liberation captain now standing before her, looking the same except for a layer of dark bitterness in his eyes and a seemingly permanent shadow across his face.

It only takes her a few minutes to draw his name from her memory banks. "Gale… Gale Hawthorne…"

Age doesn't seem to have affected him much, except for his eyes; eyes darker than she remembers. Holding more to them than a simple shallow gaze. He looks at her with them and his expression is blank; though there appears to be a touch of relief amongst the dry mask, as if the knowledge that she and her son is doing well comes as a comfort to him. "It's good to see you again," he states after a moment.

His voice is different. Changed. More worn. But she still nods, and a slight, wan smile graces her lips as she tries to ignore how time has tormented them all. "The same," she tells him, shifting, holding tightly to her son. Her son, whose Gale's eyes then turn to, intrigued and studious. "He looks like him," he offers after a moment, and Annie feels her heart do that small cinching movement.

Gale must see that she's paled slightly, because he shakes his head and begins to step away. Upon seeing that, Annie purses her lips and shakes her own head. "Wait," she beckons. It's so lonely, so sickeningly lonely, when everyone does their best to avoid the former Victor, the mindless widow, the grieving mother. She gestures with one uncertain hand to the building behind them, across the street. Her house. "I have warm drinks… if you want," she offers quietly.

He stops to ponder that, and she watches with a growing longing to curl up and disappear, until finally he nods. "In fifteen minutes," he tells her slowly. "I need to get my men situated first."

Yes, yes that will work. Annie nods, making mental preparation notes; when was the last time anyone had visited her, for her, not to pick up Amos for a playdate or deliver a package? Annie cannot remember, and before she can stop herself, old habits come into play. "Real?" she asks in a short whisper, before pressing her lips together tightly. Real, of course it was real, wasn't it? The Capitol didn't exist anymore…

Gale stares at her, but not coldly; she sees something flicker in his eyes, no doubt images of Katniss and a fire burnt out long ago. His grip tightens on his crossbow, but then he nods again, swallowing before answer, "Real," in confirmation.

She sends him a small, grateful glance, and then proceeds to usher Amos into the house.

In fifteen minutes he's in the house, and she serves coffee and small pastries tainted with sea salt. She asks about his new job, his appointment to District 2, and then timidly adds in she'd sent Katniss a letter quite some time ago, informing her of her wellbeing and Amos's as well. Gale nods silently at that, and polite conversation ensues. Too polite. He asks a few questions that mean well, she knows; he's still being the perfect soldier, making sure she is safe and comfortable. And she continues to slip a 'real?' into the conversation unwittingly a dozen more times. Each time, he confirms without a judgmental look or impatient scowl. When he leaves, Annie falls asleep in her son's bed, dreaming not of Finnick but honestly nothing at all for the first time in a while.

Seeing him has brought a tiny bit of closure, she believes.

Orders come in from Liberation. Gale is to keep his men over the winter in the fishing District. When the information comes a week after his arrival, he visits Annie, and tells her. They spend another few hours exchanging information, and he tells her that his troop will have camp directly across the street from her. She hesitantly and timidly offers him and them spare rooms in her house. He declines.

The next morning she wakes up to Amos gone; Annie flees from the house, old panic setting in automatically, and she nearly cries out in relief when she sees the boy sitting on the ground nearby holding Gale's unloaded crossbow while the young man shows him how to hold it. Upon seeing her expression, Gale sends her a slightly sympathetic and understanding gaze. "He's safe," he tells her simply. And when she asks "real?" he answers with his usual nod.

"Real."

It's a long winter. Someone spots a fugitive peacekeeper running through the District. Annie is ordered to stay indoors, as all citizens are. It's only a single one but Gale is not taking chances; he is captain. It is his duty to protect. He takes a squad and pursues the criminal.

It's a suicide bomber. The explosion goes off nearby, enough that a glass is knocked off Annie's table and she shrieks. Later in the day, she peeks out the window to see Gale return, minus two men. She watches him give orders, watches him men turn into their tents, and then watches him throw his bow across the grounds before slumping beneath a tree in defeat, the explosion no doubt bringing up all sorts of memories. Annie watches, wants to go out, but instead ends up shutting her curtain and crawling into her own bed knowing Amos is safe in the other room.

It's become a daily occurrence for him to visit at night after his men have turned in, for hot drinks that Annie offers, and then polite talk. She isn't as lonely with this pattern, and he has someone to speak to who isn't a soldier, whom he isn't supposed to order around sometimes to their death. She thinks he appreciates it; she hopes he does. She does.

There's a robbery in the marketplace that Annie visits one day; Gale appears out of an alleyway with his bow loaded. It looks as if he's ready to kill the man as he's running away, and for some reason that makes her shriek. The second she's in his gaze, Gale purses his lips, and fires into the robber's leg. She isn't sure if he was planning to do that in the first place. She asks one of Gale's men. They all look at her with interest, as if they know something she doesn't, and she doesn't get a straight answer.

She hears whispers of Hawthorne changing, but ignores rumors. She hates rumors. They are rarely ever real.

It's probably the familiarity of each other that makes them such close friends where most everyone else is a stranger. During his break Gale escorts Annie and Amos to a frozen lake so the boy can skate. Gale once again comments how much he looks like his father. This time Annie doesn't feel loss. She almost smiles, as if the words bring back a warm memory that she'd enjoyed while it lasted rather than a cruel tragedy.

Gale notices, but doesn't say anything.

Annie receives a letter one day from District 12, along with a photo of a small child in the arms of the once girl on fire. She hesitantly shows it to Gale. He gazes at it, and something gleams in his eyes a moment, before he hands it over, and smiles slightly. He's happy for her. He really, truly is; as if the knowledge that Katniss is happy brings back a warm memory that he'd enjoyed while it lasted rather than a cruel tragedy.

Annie notices, but doesn't say anything.

At some point Gale started sleeping on the couch after their nighttime talks. When she wakes up screaming one night, he's suddenly in her room, repeating "real" over and over in hushed whispers as the nightmares fade away. This repeats a half dozen more times over the course of the season, until the dreams stop completely for the first time in so long.

It happens once with Gale. A child drowns in the lake. This time, when she sees him throw his weapon down in defeat and drop into the snow, she goes out, and sits down next to him. He doesn't acknowledge her. With a courage she'd lost since the Games, she slowly wraps her arms around him. He doesn't acknowledge her.

But after nearly a half hour passes, he whispers thank you.

And Annie nods once, before kissing him lightly on the side of the head; afterwards she is immediately rushing back into her house, and crawls into bed, opening a locket with a picture of Finnick inside. Brushing a finger over the image, trying to feel that loss that told her she couldn't live without him.

All she feels is peace. Finnick is happy where he is now.

And the picture of Finnick she holds now is smiling at her.

Annie doesn't celebrate Christmas. But when Gale comes over to talk with her as usual on Christmas Eve – no one mentions the night before – Annie has some nicer drinks and foods to offer. And Gale has a pendant of a trident on a silver chain. He places it around her neck quietly; and tells her she can keep on adding charms.

When he falls asleep on the sofa tonight, a fire in the hearth, Annie realizes around three in the morning that she is there as well, in his arms. And she doesn't mind. "Real… " she whispers to herself.

And he answers in a murmur, even though he's asleep, and she smiles.

On Christmas Day, she doesn't see him all day. When he appears at her door that night, she notes that the tents are gone from before. His men have already left to return to Liberation, reassigned. She feels something in her choke, and it shows.

Until she sees his face, the most hesitant she'd even seen him look. And he slowly tells her that he's been given permission to remain in the District, posted for a more permanent period of time. She doesn't understand why he looks so reluctant, but confusion is replaced by the smile that graces her lips, illuminated by the moonlight from outside.

The smile doesn't remain for long, because soon enough, its covered by Gale's own lips as they press against her own. Her arms snake around his neck, and her pendant – joined with the charms of a fish, a mockingjay, and an archer's bow – shimmers.

"Real?"

This time, its Gale asking.

Annie smiles.

"Real."