Future of the mockingjay

Chapter ten: Finnick

"You're eyes are pretty," Rue admits shyly, smiling at Matt innocently. I roll my eyes.

"Thank you," Matt says, laughing. "Your eyes are pretty too."

She blinked, her baby blues standing out against her olive skin and dark hair. "I know."

I laughed. "Rue!"

It was the day after the funeral, and we invited Matt over to my mother's house.

"But it's true Katniss," my mother said, coming into the room and setting down a plate of cookies. "Hi, it's nice to meet you Matt, I'm Katniss' mother," she greets, giving him a hug.

I can see that it's difficult for him to have the word 'mother' mentioned.

"Thank you for the cookies," he says politely. She nods and disappears into the kitchen.

"Matt! You made it," Peeta says, coming downstairs.

They shake hands and we sit down on the couch. Matt is absolutely absorbed with Rue as she shows off magic tricks she learned at school. Finnick is upstairs sleeping, where I hope he will stay for a while. I'm just not ready to introduce him to Matt yet.

Oh, Matt, this is my son. His name is Finnick! Do you mind if I named him after your dead father? I sighed. The whole voice-in-the-head thing was coming back.

"And that's how you make yourself disappear!" Rue was saying from behind the couch. You could see the tip of her toe poking out from the side of the couch. We laughed, clapping our hands.

"Thank you Ms. Magician!" Matt says, his eyes beaming. He sure was great with kids. He turns to Peeta and I. "Is she your only child?"

Just then, as if he was waiting for his cue, Finnick let out a yell from upstairs. I groaned. "No."

"I'll go get him," Peeta says, careful not to mention his name.

"So he's younger, I'm guessing?" Matt asks.

I laugh. "How ever could you tell?" I say sarcastically. "Matt," I add Rue bounds to the kitchen to find food, "you're great with kids, by the way."

He goes a little red. It seems he hasn't taken after his father, who practically lives for this kind of praise.

"Ha-ha, yeah I guess so. I used to babysit for extra money back in High School," he explains.

"Oh, that's very... noble of you," I say, nodding my head in approval. "Your mother was lucky to have you around."

Peeta comes down just then, holding Finnick in his arms. Finnick's head perks up as he takes in Matt, and his thumb comes out of his mouth to mutter a word.

"Mama!"

I take him wordlessly in my arms, smiling at him.

"So who's this little guy?" Matt asks.

Peeta and I look at each other, and he nods at me to go. I gulp.

"Matt this is my younger son," I say. "His name... um, his name is..." I sigh. "His name is Finnick."

Peeta and I sit there stiffly, waiting for Matt's reaction. He just keeps smiling at Finnick, as if remembering a fond memory.

"I suppose I expected something like that to happen," he says. It's then that he sees our strained eyes and rigid posture. "Oh, no, I'm not angry!" he assures us. We let out a breath.

"More like... honored," he says, smiling at us. "Thank you."

"We thought that the best way for us to remember and pay respect to your father was to name our son after him. Rue's actually named after a District 11 tribute," Peeta says.

"I thought I recognized the name from somewhere," he says. "She was in your first Hunger Games, if I remember correctly."

I nod. "Thank you for acting so kindly toward us. We weren't sure if you would appreciate us naming him Finnick," I say, smiling.

"No, I want to thank you," he says, "for honoring my father in such a great way. I never knew him, but I've heard he was a great man."

"He was," Peeta and I answer simultaneously. We all look at each other and smile.

"Is anyone getting as tired as I am of all this sad talk?" Matt says suddenly.

"I agree. Feeling sad is ok, but to keep dragging it on and on isn't too great," I say, staring at the primroses outside the window. I look at Peeta, and then Matt. "Sometimes, you've got to learn to move on."