When There Are 25- A Clato Story

Explanations and Forgiveness

Cato and I dropped out of the Victory tour with the excuse that we wanted to spend time with our son. When in reality, it was to keep our son safe and as far away from Snow as possible. Katniss and Peeta assured us they could completely hand it.

Part of the reason was also to stop Cato from killing everyone. He was murderous when Haymitch told him that Snow was responsible for the death of one of our sons.

Cato and I had basically shut ourselves off from the outside world. We hadn't seen anyone in months, and I was honestly starting to miss everyone. Katniss and Peeta have just gotten back to District 12 after a very long mandatory stay in the Capitol. My parents and James had stayed as well to represent me and Cato. James had also wanted to spend more time with Cashmere. Everyone thought we needed time alone with Hunter and space after we lost our other baby.

"Cato, please tell me you have Hunter!" I yell. I had just entered Hunter's room to get him up from his nap to discover he wasn't there. I run into every other room before entering our master bedroom. I give a sigh of relief when I see Cato asleep on our bed with Hunter snuggled into his chest. I take a picture with the camera sitting on my vanity. Cato and I had been taking a ton of pictures of Hunter lately as well as some videos.

I lay down next to Cato carefully and snuggle into his side. His arm instinctively wraps around me and hugs me into his side. I lay an arm across Cato's chest and curl it around Hunter protectively. He makes a little baby noise when he feels my touch.

I see a flash and look up to see my family in the doorway, James holding the camera. I get up immediately and gently take Hunter off of Cato's chest. He wakes up immediately looking slightly fearful. He relaxes when he sees that it's just me that moved Hunter.

Cato gets up and takes Hunter from me so I can hug my family. They embrace me immediately and laugh happily. My mom reaches out for Hunter and Cato reluctantly hands him over to her. She coos at him and he gurgles happily. Hunter is passed around to my dad and then to James.

"I missed you so much," Mom whispers when she hugs me again.

"I missed you too," I murmur in her ear. I pull away and see James giving Hunter back to Cato. An alarm goes off for us to give Hunt a bottle and Cato gives my parents a stiff nod before walking out of the room to feed him.

"Things are still a little tense I see?" James comments, earning him a glare from me.

"He's hurt, James, and rightly so," I say in defense of my fiancé.

"I know," James says softly. "Liliana and Finnick want to talk to him, and you."

"Why would they want to talk to me and why Finnick too?" I ask suspiciously. What exactly is going on here?

All three of them hesitate and share glances. "That's for them to tell you," Mom answers eventually.

"Secrets like this are exactly what caused this problem in the first place. I love Cato and you're creating a very difficult situation for us," I exclaim in frustration.

"I know and I'm sorry, but it's really not our place to tell," James says calmly. I take a few deep breaths to try calm down.

"Ok. When do they want to talk?" I ask calmly.

"About that..." James drags.

"You didn't." I hear the doorbell ring and then Cato's voice, and he doesn't sound too thrilled. I run down the stairs with my parents and brother not far behind me. Cato is standing by the door with Hunter in his arms. I see Finnick and Liliana on the doorstep with something hidden behind them.

I take our son from Cato and rock him gently. "Cato, baby, let's just talk," I suggest and gesture for them to come in. Both of them hesitate before nodding. Liliana walks forward and Finnick turns around and picks up a blond little girl with sea green eyes that was hiding behind them.