Slide Away

t w e n t y

   I sigh. Everyone leaves the room, leaving Gale and I alone. I reach a hand up and run a hand through his messy hair. He sits down in the chair next to my bed, still holding my hand. My best friend sighs softly as I continue to run my hand through his hair.

"When we have more kids can you remind me that I want Prim to deliver them."

"You want more kids?" He asks, looking grey eyes full of confusion and excitement.

"I want to get married first and wait till the twins are at least two." I tell him.

"Are you serious?" His eyes search mine, trying to look for some sign that I wasn't kidding. I take my had from his messy hair and caress his face.

"I'm serious," I whisper, smiling.

"Who are you and what the hell have you done with my Catnip?!" Gale narrows his eyes.

I laugh and lean forward, pressing my lips against his. After being depressed and hating my life for so long my happily ever after was slowly starting to form. 

------------------------------ third-person POV ---------------------------- 

   Elliot Jason Hawthorne had stormy grey eyes, olive skin, and dark hair. He took exactly after both his mother in father.

   Olivia Elaine Hawthorne had bluish-grey eyes, olive skin, and light brown hair that looked almost to be dirty blonde.  

    Rose claims the baby gets her eyes and hair from Primrose and herself. But It didn't really matter to Katniss or Gale that their daughter had dirty blonde hair and bluish eyes. They thought their daughter was perfect. They thought that both of their children were perfect.

     The next four months for Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne were stress full and hectic.  Because while Elliot was loud and demanding, Olivia was quiet and patient. When the baby woke, she didn't cry like her brother did. She laid on her back in her crib with her eyes open, waiting till Katniss and Gale were able to get up.

    This seemed to scare the two parents, though both of their mothers denied that there was anything wrong with the girl. The two old women claimed that the two new parents had been blessed with an angel.  

"I'm serious, there is no way in hell she's supposed to be this quiet," Katniss said to Gale one night.

Katniss tried to rock Elliot back to sleep while Gale held Olivia in his arms, feeding her a bottle.

"I don't know why your complaining Catnip," Gale whispered. "She's quiet and patient." 

"I'm not complaining, I'm worried," Katniss answered as she carefully set down the sleeping baby boy in his crib. 

    Gale only shrugged his shoulders slightly and laid his daughter down in her crib, setting down the bottle on the dresser. The baby girl looked up at him with her bluish, grey eyes completely calm. Katniss looked down at the baby.

"I don't know why I'm so worried. I should be thankful that she's quiet." Katniss sighed.

"I agree, now go to bed." Gale kisses her temple. 

"Use that magic touch of yours on her," Katniss begged as she walked out of the room.

   Gale grinned and picked up his daughter once again, cradling her in his arms. Olivia wasn't a big fan of Katniss. Almost every-time the new mother held her daughter the baby would start to fuss. It was the same way when the new father tried to hold his son. 

      Gale took a finger and stroked his daughter's nose softly. Running the finger from her forehead down to the tip of her nose, repeating the motion over and over as she started to close her eyes. His father taught him to do this not long after his brother, Rory, was born. 

       Olivia falls asleep within minutes and he puts her back into her crib, softly closing the door to the twin's room as he walks into the hall. The man then walks down the hall to the room he shared with Katniss. Gale crawled back into bed and wrapped his arms around his friend.

"You worked your magic?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Perfect."

_______________________________________________

   At four months, the twins started to giggle. Elliot wasn't much of a giggler, but he did smile. Olivia on the other hand would giggle all the time. Her giggle was able to light up anyone's face and make them smile. When it came to sitting up though, Elliot did it easily while Olivia struggled slightly.

    At six months the twins started to learn words. Everyone wondered who would say what first. Elliot's first word was 'mama' and Olivia's was 'dada'. Tears fell from Katniss's eyes as the twins repeated the words over and over. Olivia giggled and Elliot just smiled

   When the twins started to learn to crawl Katniss wasn't able to leave the room for three seconds without one of them disappearing. At eight months old Elliot was crawling all over the place while Olivia was working on pulling up and cruising.

   Rose and Hazelle were there along with Prim and Rory when the twins took their first steps. Hazelle held Elliot up onto his feet. The baby was hesitant to take his first steps but after a while, Hazelle slowly started to let go of him and the baby boy took a few steps towards his mother. Everyone cried out in joy, clapping. Olivia on the other hand was ready, Katniss sat on her knees as her hands hovered at her daughter's sides as the girl took some steps towards Gale. The little girl giggled as she fell into her father's arms. 

Time seemed to fly by way too fast for everyone.

   The twins were ten months old when Katniss and Gale finally got married. Though the wedding was small and only a few of their friends and their families were there, the two finally tied the knot. 

    After the wedding, Katniss and Gale both sat in the twin's room watching their two babies sleep. The newlywed's hands were intertwined, Katniss's head on Gale's shoulder. They watched as the two children slept in the same crib, their bodies close together.

"This is our happily ever after," Katniss whispered, looking up at Gale.

"It is, isn't it?" He smiled slightly.

"We have two amazing kids and we're married and . . ." Katniss looks once again to her sleeping babies, "I'm happy."

"You are?"

"I'm happy."

"Me too, Catnip." Gale wraps an arm around his best friend's shoulders, kissing her forehead. "Me too."