Hijacked

Begin Again

Before I left, I said goodbye to Catora. Her eyes were a little glazed over as she said goodbye. I couldn't tell if she was upset that I was leaving or not but she squeezed my hand tightly before letting go quickly and turning away from me. As I got to the door, she called out to me.

"What would you want his name to be?" Name? I had never even thought about naming our child. And I didn't know what to say about it now.

"I'm sure you'll think of something amazing." Catora pursed her lips and touched her stomach. She was bigger now. The Doctors said she had frequent nightmares but was eating well and taking her medication. That put me at ease. "I.. Frankly, can't think of a name right now." She nodded and laid back down. I exited the room.

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I was sent back to District 12 by train. The rails weren't damaged in the bombing so I was able to get back home rather swiftly. Haymitch saw me off with crates of supplies before hopping back on the train and heading back towards the Capitol.

It didn't take long for me to settle back down in 12. The area was still cluttered with debris and dead bodies but the Victor village was virtually untouched. I made myself at home back in my old house and got to work on restoring that area first, it was the least destroyed and the most salvageable. I cleared away rocks, wood and broken furniture, piling them all up in one area before fixing up the path around the fountain. It no longer worked, the water had stopped running through it and I didn't know how to fix it so I just cleaned out the inside and left it at that.

After a month of solitude, I began to wonder about my friends and Catora. Had Gale told Katniss? Had Katniss explained it to Catora? Did Catora realize that what she had done truly had been the right thing? I supported her decision to kill Coin and not Snow. It was almost more satisfying than watching the old President die. At the thirty day mark, more supplies were dropped down from a hovercraft. Waving up at the aircraft, I went to check what had been brought to me.

At the top of the second box was a small pile of letters and right bellow that, art supplies. Looking at the letters, I didn't recognize the handwriting but all of them were addressed to me so after putting everything away, I sat down to read what had been written to me.

The first letter was from Annie. She talked about Finnick and their house by the ocean. She talked about frequent nightmares the two of them shared and how Katniss was now living with them. She said she'd let Katniss explain why and left it at that. She asked how I was doing and commented on how Finnick was worried for me. I smiled a little. Finnick was worried about me? Now I'd heard everything. She also talked about her recent pregnancy and how happy she was. Though I didn't really know Annie, hearing all this from her warmed my heart.

Don't close yourself off from everyone Peeta. Come visit us. Finnick would be glad to see you.
Love, Annie. I smiled and folded up the letter. The next one was from Katniss.

She started off with what Gale had told her and how she couldn't forgive him. She was in love with him but she needed time to process everything, to heal. Gale said he'd wait for her. I was glad to hear this. They need each other after everything they've been through together. Katniss had told Catora and the two of them cried together. Every week Katniss has gone out to the Capitol to see Catora. The trains are wonderful they're really fast Peeta, I never knew.

She explains how Finnick offered her a place to stay after he heard about her and Gale. Katniss' mom has immersed herself in work and Katniss doesn't know if she can reach her this time like she did when her father died. She said that frankly, she doesn't want to. Her relationship with her mom had been dwindling through the years. Prim was what kept them together and with her gone, there was nothing tying them together.