|AN|: Woaaahh... Long time no see, I would say. I was a little bit occupied lately with my studies and work an stuff so I didn't have a chance to write really. So in the meantime I've become like the biggest Hunger Games fan on earth... really. I mean... those books! And those movies! An the cast! I mean wow! It's amazing, all of it. So I've decided to write a little something. Basically it's an AU story taking place in the middle of Mockingjay when Katniss finds out that the rescue missions is back. Well, we all know what happened then and when I was reading the book and when I saw the movie, my heart literally broke for my poor Peeta. I have to say he's my favorite character from this franchise so you can only imagine how devastated I was when I found out what happened to him. Okay, enough of that. I know that loads of people already wrote their take on this story, but I just couldn't help myself. I had to do it. I just hope you will find that my version fun and worth your time. I certainly enjoyed writing it!

I'm sorry, but I didn't have the chance to do the Beta version for this story so it's possible that it's full of mistakes. Sorry again for that! Don't hesitate to correct me!

|AN2|: For those who are still waiting for the next chapter of To Be Free, I promise you that I didn't abandon this story. I promise! It's just hard for me to write right now, but I will update so please wait patiently.

SUMMARY: My take on the 'rescue mission return' form Mockingjay. How would it go if Peeta wasn't hijacked? Fluff and love alert! :D If you heaven't read/seen Mockingjay don't read this story! Katniss/Peeta, rated T just to be safe.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that you can recognize, it's all Suzanne Collins' awesome work! I just own the plot of this little story.

The Mockingjay In My Heart.

I jump up like a doe startled by a careless hunter as the words just spoken by Haymitch make their way into my brain.

I can't breathe, I can't think and I'm almost positive that I would pass out any moment now, but I'm proven wrong immediately as my body jerks and all I can recall is that I'm running.

They are back! They are back! They are back!

I'm ecstatic as I run, never minding Haymitch who calls my name chasing after me, but I stop suddenly as a series of terrifying questions forces its way into my mind.

Are they okay? Is Peeta back? Is he alive? Did Gale get hurt? Did he make it?

I'm about to voice all of my concerns to my mentor, who stops running after me as he sees me halt abruptly, but he already knows those questions the moment he looks into my eyes and sees the startled look in them.

"I don't know much, but they are all here, taken care of." He clarifies quickly in a surprisingly gentle tone and it feels as if a giant rock just dropped from my heart to the pit of my stomach, making me even more anxious to see them.

From the corner of my eye I see Finnick already ahead of us, running towards the hospital part of the district in such a hurry that he's almost stumbling over his own feet. I don't hesitate to follow him and I feel Haymitch doing exactly the same.

I run as fast as I can, just like Finnick- never minding if I trip and end up flat on my face. The only thought in my mind is to make sure Peeta is fine. And Gale. Yeah, I have to find out if he is fine as well.

Finally after what seems like hours of running I stumble towards the door that are already opened by Finnick and I crush my body against the frame, lean on it and struggle for breath. It's a complete chaos in there. Doctors are shouting orders at nurses, nurses are shouting messages to each other as they try to tend their patients and among all this mess, when my racing heart and confused mind are finally starting to calm down, I hear an unsettling sound and I'm suddenly panic-struck again, certain that something terrible has happened, something very terrible. Just then, I hear it again.

"Finnick!" Something between a shriek and a cry of joy. A lovely if somewhat bedraggled young woman—dark tangled hair, sea green eyes—runs toward us in nothing but a sheet. "Finnick!" And suddenly, it's as if there's no one in the world but these two, crashing through space to reach each other. They collide, enfold, lose their balance, and slam against a wall, where they stay. Clinging into one being. Indivisible.

I immediately recognize that woman as Annie Cresta, Finnick's girl- the one he loves more than anything. The one he was so desperate to get back. The one he couldn't live without.

And suddenly, it hits me like a gust of fresh air.

That's exactly the way I feel about Peeta.

That thought makes me startle and look away from the pair as I'm hit with a pang of jealousy. They are already in each other's arms, they are finally together.

I want that.

I can't get to Peeta fast enough, so my eyes scan the room anxiously. They catch a sight of a pale woman-head shaven bald and covered by bloody gashes, eyes uneasy- our gazes meet for a brief second and I see the pain so clear and severe in her eyes. She recognizes me as well and throws something resembling a crooked smile my way. Johanna Mason- the only one of them who actually knew rebel secrets. I feel pain and sadness in my heart as I glance over her thin, bruised, scarred body. She paid greatly for her knowledge.

I can't think about her now, though. The only thing in my mind, clear enough to be taken into consideration, is Peeta's name repeating itself in my brain like a broken record. I scan the room quickly once again and rest my eyes on a half-opened door. I can see a silhouette through them and I realize that know this silhouette by heart as I'm used to seeing it regularly for so many years now. Gale.

He looks well enough. His arm is being unwrapped from a blood soaked bandage, but other than that he seems to be fine. My lips form his name and I see his head snap up at the sound of my voice, but I see his face only for a brief moment, before the door is slammed shut.

"…the only one that wasn't there was Enoboria. I doubt she was even held, being form Two and all. Peeta's at the end of the hall. They are checking him over and the effects of the gas are just wearing off. She should be there when he wakes up."

It takes me a few seconds to recognize that it's Boggs talking to Haymitch and I look over my shoulder at him only to find out that besides a long gash on his left cheek, he is perfectly fine. This fact occupies my mind only for a little moment though, before his calmly spoken words gain a meaning in my clouded mind.

Peeta is at the end of the hall… I should be there when he wakes up.

"Katniss, let's…" was all Haymitch managed to say before noticing that I'm already halfway down the narrow hall.

It's just a few seconds, just a few more steps, just a few heartbeats and I will see him. I will hug him. I will kiss him. I will not let go of him. Never again.

I reach the door and stop dead in my tracks with one hand on the door knob. I'm suddenly scared of what I'm going to see. How badly is he hurt? What have they done to him? Is he even still the same Peeta that I left under the lightning tree? What if he hates me for leaving him in the arena? I certainly hate myself for it. What am I going to say to him?

I feel Haymitch's hand on my shoulder and my eyes meet his for a moment. I see uneasiness in his gaze but he nods at me and squeezes my shoulder letting me know, in a very Haymitch-like way, that he's there for me. He's there for us. I appreciate it now and for some reason I feel much better, much more confident. The most important part is that Peeta is here, that he is safe again. And I can only hope that he really would want my face to be the first one he will see when he wakes up.

I don't think much after that and rekindling my previous determination to get to him I press the knob and enter the room quietly as not to startle him.

My eyes are immediately filled with tears when I see his battered, bruised, skinny body held up slightly by two doctors. He is almost in a sitting position now, but he's clearly not awake yet. With the corner of my eye I see Prim standing nearby. Of course she would want to be here. She throws a hesitant half-smile my way.

I notice one of the nurses pat Peeta's cheek, obviously to wake him from sleep and I feel anger at her boiling in my veins when I spot a big purple bruise sporting his cheek. Even if the pats were rather gentle I know that every little touch against that kind of a bruise must be extremely painful.

I'm at one at his side, pushing away the nurse who moves with a huff of annoyance, but all I care about is to get to him.

It's my hand now that touches his cheek and I make sure that the touch is as gentle as I can muster, feather-like. I take in his face- bruised, scratched, so unbelievably thin. His cheeks are hollow, big dark bags under his closed eyes, the freckles scattered across his nose and cheeks visible more than ever. His hair is matted, dried blood and dirt changing its color to dirty blonde. The only aspect of his beauty that is still untouched are those unbelievably long and curled golden eyelashes gracing his closed eyelids. I feel an incredibly strong urge to kiss his chapped and split lips and I know than, that it's the only way I can think of to rouse him from sleep.

Without hesitation my lips touch his, oh so gently, and I can't help but think that he deserves to be woken by kisses for the rest of his life.

I feel him stir the moment I part my lips from his and his eyes flutter open. A couple of hot tears slid down my cheeks as I take a first glimpse of his breathtakingly blue eyes- pained, tired and confused, but generally unchanged.

That's when I know I have my Peeta back and I don't think I've ever in my life felt a greater relief.

"Peeta." I say his name, barely above a whisper, my hand that never left it's place on his cheek caresses it gently and lovingly. I hear the teary whimper that escapes my lips as I repeat his name and I see his eyes widen at the sight and sound of me. He looks uncertain and I instantly know that he simply can't believe that I'm here. I can't believe he's here either.

"Katniss?" He questions so quietly, that I'm barely able to hear him as I watch his lips form my name. I've never appreciated how beautiful they look just saying it. I choke on a sob and nod my head repeatedly.

"It's me… it's really me. You are safe, you are with me. I've got you." I say in one breath and I see his face soften slightly, although the confused look in his blue eyes remains unchanged.

"Is it real?" He asks, sounding like a child who doesn't quite believe that he was given a cookie and my heart melts for him even more.

"Real… real. It's so real." I press my lips against his one more time. He seems startled at first, but then fully relaxes against the doctors' arms that are still holding him up slightly. I've completely forgotten about their existence, including Prim's and Haymitch's and it doesn't surprise me at all. I was focusing on Peeta and Peeta only. He was the one important now and nothing else mattered.

I move my lips against his once, then again and I feel him respond to the kiss hesitantly. It's the closest to heaven that I'd ever felt, I realize. That's definitely the sweetest of kisses that I had ever experienced.

"It must be real." He says quietly as I reluctantly withdraw my lips from his. His expression is soft now, and I swear that he almost smiles. "You've never tasted so good in my dreams." My heart accelerates and flutters in my chest like the wings of a mockingjay trying to escape it's cage. Yeah, I love him. I love him so much.

So I tell him just that.

"I love you. So much."

And then I repeat it again and again, not quite believing myself that I'm able to say it. Not quite believing that I'm so certain about it.

He releases a half sob, half laugh at that and lurches himself towards me so I catch him in my arms. I feel his weight against me as he slips from the doctors' arms and leans completely on me. I'm startled at how little he weights.

I hold him close to me as he repeats my name against my neck, over and over again. I don't know how long we sit like that, but when my eye catches a glimpse of the clock on Peeta's bedside table I see it strike midnight.

"I'll see you at midnight." My own voice rings in my brain, reminding me the words that I've spoken to him in the arena, the last words I've spoken to him before he was taken away from me. I don't know if I'm about to laugh or cry at the irony of it. Yeah, we've met at midnight eventually. Unconsciously I go for the later when a broken sob escapes my lips.

Peeta sniffles loudly and presses his mouth against my pulse point. It feels wonderful, soothing.

"I love you Katniss." He whispers into my ear and I feel it again- the beautiful flutter in my heart that makes me so excited and almost perfectly happy.

I nuzzle his neck and even if I know that he's dirty, bloody, sweaty and he probably can't smell pleasantly right now, for some unknown reason, when my nose is burrowed against his skinny neck, all I can smell is soap and cinnamon rolls. All I can smell is Peeta.

"I love you…" He repeats tiredly but somehow happily and that's when it hits me. It's Peeta. It has always been Peeta. Without him I'm lost, because he is the only one, who can make me happy, who can make me fall in love and feel hope.

He is the only one, who can make me fight and be strong and determinate.

And I know why everything what I was doing here earlier didn't have much sense.

I didn't really felt it in my heart, in my blood.

I couldn't be their 'face of the rebellion' for real.

Peeta is the only one, who can make me want to do that.

He is the only one, who can rouse to life the Mockingjay in my heart.

THE END

|AN3|: Italics means quote from the book. I just decided to leave this part unchanged.

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