Catching Fire: Rekindling

By: Jamie Sommers

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Farewell

Previously you got some POV's of what happened in the arena, but not an actual account of what happened. In this chapter you will find out everything. District Twelve was hit with firebombs and Bing came upon an injured Gale in the woods. Effie stayed at the Capitol using Annie as her excuse.

This is the final chapter of CF:R and I'd like to dedicate it to all of you. The readers. Those of you that discovered my first story and thought to yourself, why not...I'll give it a try, then never left my side. Those of you that were brought here by a friend or relative. Those of you that were bored and looking for something to do. Those that read one of my other stories and started browsing through my stuff. Those of you that came here because of Outtakes (I kind of feel like you guys got to get a little more story than others and there will be an Outtakes for MJ:BW). Those of you that wanted to see my grammar get better or my writing style progress. Whatever your reason for sticking with me... This one's for you. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!

S and A, there are no words for all that you do. I thank you both. BB, you have made this a very special journey. Thank you.

Now it is time for the final installation of... (I'm gonna cry)...

Catching Fire: Rekindling

Bing rushed to Gale's aid, the fiery inferno of District Twelve the boy's backdrop in the night. "What happened?" The baker's voice was frantic, his heart racing.

"The power was cut and then they sent in planes to firebomb us." The skin on Gale's arm was blistered as was half of his face.

Bing's eyes were wide with horror. "My family!" He tried to push past Gale, who was now holding him back. The flat of his hands pressed against the baker's chest, pushing…breaking open some of the blisters on one hand…doing his best to prevent the baker from facing the devastation.

"If they're not heading for the lake, sir, then they're gone. The Capitol hit Town Square first," pain filled Gale's voice as he informed the baker of the overwhelming news. "I…I tried to get to…" his voice began to crack, "I couldn't get to Prim or Katniss' mom. I tried, but there was no getting through the fire."

"I…" Peeta's father was trying to cope with what Gale had told him. His sons could be dead…burning away while he was safe in the middle of the woods. "I have them. They're safe."

With his good hand, Gale gripped the baker's arm. "You got them out! They're here?" His eyes scanned the surrounding area. "Where are they? We have to get them to safety before the Peacekeepers come."

The word Peacekeepers snapped Bing out of his stupor. "Come with me." He helped Gale to the hidden trap door in the woods. "Evelyn," he called down to her. "You two need to come up here. Quick. Gale's hurt."

Gale stared down at the flight of stairs, an oddity in the middle of the woods, wondering where it came from. "What the hell is this?"

"It's a secret passage Peeta and Katniss found out about right before they left for the Games," Bing held out his hand to help Prim into the woods then her mother. "They've hidden some supplies out here just in case we needed them."

"Why didn't they run? Leave before the Games?" Gale was frozen in place as Bing began pushing on something in the ground and the woods went back to looking normal again, hiding the tunnel's exit.

"Because they knew the Capitol would take out their disappearance on the people of the district. Instead they decided to go in and try to give the rebels hope." Bing faced Gale head on. "Peeta told me you knew about the rebellion…the uprising in Eight and what they mean to this war, so don't act so shocked at their choice. Now quit standing there and let Evelyn look at your wounds. We need to get in gear."

Gale, Evelyn and Prim watched in awe as Peeta's father revealed the hidden supplies and saw what was hidden within.

"Mom, I'll take care of Gale," Prim took hold of one of the containers of medication. "Come here, Gale. You'll feel better in no time." She poured some clean water over his injuries, heard him suck in a breath between his teeth, gently patted some clean gauze against it to dry his burns then rubbed the ointment into his skin.

Gale had expected to scream and feel the stabbing pain rip through his skin, like he had when he was whipped, when Prim applied the medicine to his burns, instead there was instant relief. "Holy cow, what is that stuff?"

"That's what they sent Katniss when she got hit with the fireball in the arena," Prim answered. "Mom, I need a clean shirt for him."

"Hold on," Evelyn unzipped a large black bag to find smaller bags within with labels on them.

"I've got it." Bing yanked out a tote from a larger black bag. "This one's marked 'Gale.'" He tossed the bag towards Prim.

"Thanks." Prim unzipped it and pulled out a brand new long-sleeved shirt and handed it to Gale. "Here put this on. Make sure you take off your undershirt too. Don't want to cause an infection."

"Where the hell did this stuff come from?" Gale reached a tentative hand out towards the shirt.

"I'm guessing it was Peeta," Prim answered as she zipped the bag back up then lugged it to the baker. "Holy cow that's a lot of stuff. How are we going to get it out of here?"

The baker sat back on his haunches. "I was just wondering the same thing myself." He looked at the crowd of people vanishing in the distance. "Gale where are they heading?"

"To the lake," he answered as he changed into the soft blue shirt Prim had handed him.

"We need to get some of those men back here." Bing stood up and began thinking. "Is there anyone up there you trust, Gale? A couple of strong men?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"We're going to need to act fast," Bing motioned for him to come over. "Take a look inside of here." The storage unit was about the size of a small truck, lined with some plastic tarp, had a couple of trunks in there that no one could get into with the exception of Katniss and Peeta, some large black duffel bags filled with smaller totes and the rest were boxes. "There's no way we can unload all of this stuff ourselves. You go ahead with Prim and Mrs. Everdeen and send back a bunch of men, good strong men. I want to do this all in one trip. Now they're not going to trust me seeing as I'm from town and all, but they'll trust whoever you trust."

"Why don't I just come back with them?" Gale asked.

Bing shook his head. "We need you to stay with those people. Once they see supplies, everyone is going to want them and the last thing we need is chaos." He turned to Evelyn. "You and Prim set up a medical area. Gale, put your mother in charge of household items like clothing. Injured, children, pregnant women, elders, women then men. That's the order we take care of people. Gale you and your brothers will be in charge of food. We hunt and forage for what we need. The supplies Peeta has provided are to be used as a last resort."

Gale listened intently as the baker laid out a plan for what was to be done over the next few hours. "I'm sending you two men. Thom and Jorge. They can be your go betweens. Peeta knows both of them and they think very highly of your son. They'll make sure no one searches through the supplies and bring them straight to me at the lake."

"Good." Bing reached inside of the storage unit and pulled out a dark green bag. "You keep this with you. Do not unzip it or show anyone what's inside of it until I arrive. Understand me?"

"Yes, sir." Gale slid the handles over his good arm. "May I ask what's inside of it?"

"Weapons," Bing answered. "Everything Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch used during training and then some."

"What do I say when people ask me where this stuff came from?"

Bing stood up and said, "You tell them the truth. You tell them that Katniss and Peeta wanted to take care of their district and hid things in the woods a long time ago. They don't need to know the details just that those two never forgot where they came from." He handed Prim a box with medical supplies inside of it. "Can you carry that?"

She nodded. "Yes." It was a bit on the heavy side, but she was strong like her brother and sister so the box would make it to the lake with no problems.

"That's my good girl," Bing gave her braid a little tug.

"Evelyn, I'm not sure what the priority is as far as medicines go. You want to take a look inside of this thing?"

"Lord," her eyes filled with tears, "I couldn't love that boy any more if I tried." She loaded up on bandages, pain medicine, burn ointment, antibiotics and anything else she could lift.

Gale, Prim and Evelyn headed toward the lake, their bodies weighed down with boxes and bags as Bing hid the evidence back up in case a Peacekeeper showed. Every now and then a stray resident of Twelve would stumble along, badly damaged and he would hide them in the woods until help arrived. A dozen men, three from town, showed up two hours later. They couldn't carry all of the supplies and decided to send the majority of them back with Thom and Jorge then send another group of men back with Thom to finish up the haul.

"Anyone see my family at the lake?" Bing asked, holding onto hope that his sons had somehow escaped the blaze.

Looks were exchanged, men murmured back and forth, they all guessed what had happened to the baker's family, but none of them wanted to voice their opinion. "Most of us were in the Seam when the bombs hit," Thom finally spoke up, "so we're probably not the best ones to ask, but we'll keep our eyes open for them when we head back."

Bing looked at his fellow townsfolk avoiding eye contact with him at any cost. "I appreciate it. Thom was it?"

"Yes, sir."

"The name is, Bing. Bing Mellark. My son Peeta spoke quite highly of you."

"Peeta's a hell of a guy," Thom strapped a large black bag onto his back and lifted several boxes up from the ground making a slight grunting noise. "Doesn't surprise me that he prepared for a day like this." He adjusted the boxes in his arms. "I'll ask around about your family, see what I can find out." Thom nodded towards the two men they were leaving behind with Bing. "I'll be back as soon as I can with help. You men help him get the rest of this stuff organized and ready to move."

Gale started as a box was dropped at his feet. He looked at the men lining up behind Thom and said, "Place the boxes back here." Pointed to a spot next to the old, abandoned shack and said, "Line the bags up over here. Don't stack them."

Prim walked up to Gale. "Mom wants to know if there are any blankets in there. We need to lay them down on the floor."

"Thom?' Gale asked his trusted co-worker, "Did you find any blankets in these?"

The man shook his head. "Mr. Mel…Bing, told us not to search through the supplies, said that was your job."

Gale gave him a nod. He had told Gale the same, but didn't expect anyone to actually listen to the baker. They were all in a desperate situation, probably hungry…starving, so Gale was a bit surprised that none of them tried to search through the boxes for food. "That's right. I forgot he said that." Gale turned to Prim. "Tell your mom I'll take a look as soon as I can." He turned his attention back to Thom. "Where is he anyway?"

"We couldn't get everything back in one trip, so he stayed back with a couple of men, there are still some stragglers wandering into the woods. He thought it would be best to keep a couple of guys back and if a group of folks showed up, a man could lead them back this way so they wouldn't get lost," Thom answered. "I've got to head back with a few more men to pick up the rest of the supplies."

"That's a hell of a trip to be making back to back," Gale ran his hand through his already tousled hair. "Why don't you stay here and I can go?"

"Mr. Mellark said you needed to stay here and run things till he got back, Gale," Prim gave him a serious look.

"Yeah," Gale began to nod.

"Since when do we take orders from the baker?" One of the men dropping off the boxes asked.

"He's just trying to help," Gale said defending the man.

"I'm going to head back. Who do you think I should take with me?" Thom asked. "Mr. Mell…I mean Bing suggested I try and take a couple of men from town as well as a couple from the Seam. Split the work up evenly if we can."

Gale looked around and noticed an abundance of people from the Seam and barely anyone from town. "There," he pointed. "That's Delly Cartwright. She knows pretty much everyone. Go ask her to come over here and we'll ask her who would be the best ones to ask for help."

"Who's running this show?" Another of the men from the Seam asked Gale. "The baker or you, Gale?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gale asked.

A few of the men gathered round. "Look, we don't mind if the baker helps out and all, but taking orders from a merchant? Hell, we might as well be taking orders from Undersee again," one of them said.

"That's not fair!" Prim forced her way into the middle of their circle. "Peeta's from town and none of you have a problem with him or taking the food he gave to you when he lived here."

"Prim," Gale tried to calm her down by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Lower your voice."

"I will do no such thing," she stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest.

Gale tried not to smile at how much she resembled Catnip in that moment. "Let me handle this, Prim." He turned to face the group of men. "Right now no one's in charge. We're all just trying to survive so let's not make a big deal out of anything."

"You're wrong, Gale. People here are looking to you," one of the men said. "They're all counting on you to help get us out of this mess."

Gale had a sneaky suspicion that his fellow residents thought he was the one that would solve all of their problems. "I'm not sure what we're going to do here."

"You're the one that's got us loading up these supplies…set up an area for the sick…"

"Gale didn't do that!" Prim almost lunged at the man. "Peeta did that! Mr. Mellark did that!"

"Prim's right," Gale took a step in front of her. "Peeta, Katniss and the baker are the ones that prepared for something like this, not me. All I did was take people to the lake and follow the baker's orders when we got here." Gale squinted and studied the men trying to absorb the news. "Like I said, we're all trying to survive right now. No one should be thinking about who's in charge. We should be thinking about how to help each other out."

"Well, none of those merchants are gonna want to help out those of us from the Seam, you can count on that."

"Gale?" Delly stepped up to the group and spoke quietly. "I just thought you'd want to know. My dad and some of the other men from town left with Thom to meet up with Peeta's dad. They said it was their turn to go since so many of the coalminers went the last time."

Prim flashed the group of men a know it all look, "You were saying?"

Delly glanced at the men and said, "The others that went with you are getting ready to clean up in the lake. I know you're in charge of the food, Gale and I was thinking, since they did so much traveling for all of us, they should probably be the first ones to eat. I know you said children then pregnant women, but none of the adults, pregnant women included, will want to take a stitch of food until these men have had something." She played with the charred ends of her ponytail. "I'm a really good cook so I'll be happy to help you with the food preparations. My whole family will. It's what we do, after all."

Gale flustered a little and said, "I've already asked Greasy Sae to work on the meal preparation."

"Yes, I know," Delly held her chin up high. "And she's quite gifted with wild dog, but so am I."

Gale's eyes flashed to Delly's. "You…are?"

"Never judge a book by its cover Gale Hawthorne," she smiled brightly. "I've already spoken to Miss. Sae and she has agreed to let me and my family help her. She's very interested in my recipe for estofado el perro."

He had seen it advertised once a month at the grocery store Delly's family owned and there was always a line for the stuff when they sold it. Of course a line consisted of three or four people, but that was a crowd considering the majority of people couldn't afford the luxury of buying a prepared meal. Gale had always wondered what it was and what it tasted like. Lately they had been preparing it almost daily for Thread's Peacekeepers. It must've been something really special considering the white suited guards actually lined up for a bowl of the stuff. Gale pretended he didn't know what she was talking about. "Esta what a what?" his face twisted.

"Dog stew," Delly quirked her brow. "So? What do you say? Can I help?"

It took everything in Gale's power not to let out a laugh at Delly's admission. Anyone that could dress up a bowl of dog stew and flog it to the Peacekeepers as gourmet cooking the way her family had been for years was okay in Gale's book. "Yeah, sure."

Prim had her hand covering her mouth to hide her smile. The second she was alone with Gale she let out a hint of a grin. "Can you believe Delly's family has been serving dog stew to everyone for so long and no one knew about it?"

Gale was shaking his head from side to side. "Gotta hand it to them. That's pretty ingenious. I bet Greasy Sae is kicking herself right now for not thinking of a fancy name like they came up with." Gale led Prim over to the supplies and started going through the labels. "You said you needed blankets?"

"And any medical supplies you come across."

Gale took a quick peek inside of the stone cottage where Posy was currently "nursing" people back to health. "Is she causing you two any problems in there?"

"No, she's actually helping out quite a bit," Prim answered. "Bringing people water. Telling them stories…getting their mind off of things." She looked towards the district which was still burning brightly. "Why'd they do it, Gale? Why'd they blow it up? Was it because Mr. Mellark took me and mom before the Peacekeepers came for us?"

"The Peacekeepers came for you, Prim?" This was news to Gale.

"Yeah," Prim started to read the labels. "I don't know how Mr. Mellark knew, but he did. He knew they were going to come for us. He took us over to Peeta's house to watch the Games, made us leave the lights off, got me and mom a change of clothes and then started leading us toward another mansion." Prim gave Gale the rundown on how they escaped and what happened in the cramped tunnel.

"Where the heck did that thing come from Prim?"

Prim shrugged. "Mr. Mellark didn't seem to know the whole story, but I guess it was built when the house was. Found them," she pointed to a couple of boxes that said bedding. "This one says, Katniss' bedding."

Gale had wanted to tell her something…ask her something. "Prim," he said a little sheepishly, "is she really pregnant?"

"You're kidding, right?" Prim looked at him like he was insane. "Have you seen how much she's been throwing up? Or how often she's been crying?"

"I've seen her cry, but other than today I haven't seen her throw up except for that first day and she was sort of dehydrated," he opened a box, "I've been at work."

"Gale, Katniss is like an exaggerated version of a textbook pregnant woman." Prim dug through the first box and pulled out a condensed package, each one contained a pillow and a sleeping bag as flat as a sheet of paper. "Holy cow, how many of these are in here?"

Gale stuck his head in the box. "I don't know. Where did they come from?"

"I…have…no…clue…" Prim was shaking her head slowly in disbelief. "There has to be…like a hundred in here." She tapped on the box marked Katniss' bedding. "Open this one next. I wonder what's inside. It's probably for her. Something special for her from him."

"Him?" Gale questioned.

"Peeta," Prim sighed then smiled, "Or maybe it's something she insisted on having because she's gotten so spoiled."

"Katniss isn't spoiled," Gale insisted.

Prim rolled her head towards Gale. "Katniss is soooooooo spoiled. Peeta has babied the heck out of her. I don't even want to imagine how bad it's going to get now that's she's pregnant."

"What did you mean she was 'textbook?'" Gale asked as he opened the box. "You mean the puking?"

"Not just that. Her skin, her hair…her…" Prim started making jerky, spastic motions with her shoulders and twitching her lips and nose.

"Herrrr?" Gale was trying to get Prim to spit it out.

Prim noticed a full, downy blanket that had already been opened and more packaging like the others with different contents in them. She lifted the blanket up and saw a flash of orange fall out on the ground. "Oh boy," she giggled and picked up the tiny articles.

"Geez," Gale snatched it from Prim's grasp and picked the other off of the ground. "I think we need to leave this box alone." he shoved the bedding back inside of it. "This is obviously not meant to be used by any of us."

Prim bit her lips to stifle her giggle. "Obviously." She took a few of the sleeping bag packages and said, "Gale, there are a lot of different signs, you should know, you have how many siblings? Prim gave her shoulder a little shrug, "They're having a baby, Gale and from the looks of things, I think they're both pretty happy about it." Prim grabbed some bedding and medications then went back to her station in the cottage.

He had no clue how to interpret that, but he'd figure it out. Gale may have packed up the bedding, but he shoved Katniss' personal item into his pocket, telling himself he didn't want anyone else to come across it.

The sun had already come up by the time Bing had made it to the lake. He had spent hours listening to the people that had stumbled into the woods tell him about the Capitol's planes dropping the bombs around their district. Bing had expected them to tell him that the mines were the first target, but they weren't. The bakery was. It tore him up inside knowing he was busy saving Clayton Everdeen's family whilst his own was being burned alive. He sent one of the men back to camp with the group and the rest of the supplies, the second man back with another, smaller group of people that had wandered into the woods. Finally Bing asked Delly's father if he wouldn't mind walking him to the lake while Thom and the rest went into their district to gather up any remaining people and bring them to their camp. He allowed himself to grieve for the loss of his sons and found that he had no tears for his wife, but guilt over the lack of emotion he felt towards her death. Once he saw the large group of people in sight he put his personal needs aside and sought out Gale. "How are we doing here?"

"Pretty good. We've got a hunting party getting ready to go out, a makeshift hospital over here," Gale pointed towards the old cottage, "mom's got volunteers taking care of the people with the most damage done to their clothing and my brothers have an area set up for sleep. We're going to do it in shifts. What do you think?"

"I think that's a good idea. We'll need to have people standing guard in case the Capitol finds out about our little refugee camp. Going to have to come up with an escape plan just in case something like that comes up." Bing looked around. "Have we done a head count yet?"

"No? Think we should?" Gale hadn't even thought of it.

"Definitely. We need to know how many people we're feeding. How much water we'll need…how many children there are in case one wanders off… Maybe get a few people to write down who we've got here. For all we know there are people thinking their families are dead and they're right across the woods from one another." It was a long shot, but maybe one of his sons got out and was somewhere in the woods amongst the group.

"I think there are a few teachers in there," Gale said. "Want me to ask them?"

"As long as they can read and write, they're perfect for the job."

Gale pulled him to the side and quietly said, "Listen, people keep asking me who's in charge. I'm not really sure what to tell them."

Bing didn't feel like a power struggle, but this was an awfully big job for Gale. "You want to be in charge, Gale?"

"Don't really feel like it's my place considering all that you and Peeta did here," he answered.

"You did just as much," Bing told him. He studied the people they were surrounded by. The vast majority of them were from the Seam. "What do you say we do this together? We can talk things through together. If someone asks you something, you tell them you don't make the decision without talking to me first and I tell people the same."

"Sounds good," Gale agreed. "Let me tell you what I was thinking about doing as far as food goes." They discussed meals. Gale didn't want to allow the men that hunted to eat out of order, but Bing said it was necessary for them to keep up their strength. The stipulation being that no one other than Gale was allowed to go hunting two times in a row. There weren't very many residents of Twelve that knew how to hunt, set snares or forage. The fence, whether it was on or off, was threatening enough to the majority of people that lived in District Twelve. No one was allowed to wander into the woods unattended for any reason whatsoever including Gale. There was a "lights out" time period each night when the only reason a person could get up from their assigned spot was to use the restroom and they weren't allowed to go alone. Everyone had to check in and check out. They were able to survive for two days before having to break into the food supplies that were hidden away and even then by day three things were looking scarce. With only two bows and a minimal supply of arrows, some spears, swords and knives, feeding eight hundred and three people was a lot to ask when most of the people there didn't know how to hunt.

"Mr. Mellark?" Gale was sitting at the edge of the lake watching Peeta's father reach in up to his elbow for the root that had been helping to keep them alive. The man had barely slept since Gale had run into him that very first night. "Slim pickings, huh?"

"She's in there somewhere. Just got to find her. That daughter in law of mine doesn't like to make things easy," he grinned over his shoulder. "I'm telling you, Gale…katniss is going to keep us all alive." He plucked out one of the plants. "See?" It dripped down his arm. "That girl would never let her sister starve to death. We need to find some dandelions too. Prim said that's the way to go."

"Yeah, they make for a good sala…" Gale held up his hand. "Do you hear that?"

"What is…" Bing was standing up with a knife in his hand at Gale's side, his hair whipping in the ferocious wind. "The Capitol found us!" Sounds of women and children screaming were coming from behind them. "Prim!" Bing ran towards the stone cottage. He could see Evelyn and Prim standing in the doorway. Prim was pointing upwards towards the hovercraft, her eyes were aglow. Evelyn's hand was covering her mouth and Bing was running to save Peeta's girls…his girls. "I'm coming!"

Gale had to get to his family. Hopefully his brother would remember to follow the escape plan, but from the looks of things, very few people remembered a damn thing. Most of them were just standing there like bumps on a log. Some of them actually looked happy. Maybe they thought they wouldn't starve to death now that the Capitol was there to take them as prisoners. Better to be a prisoner than die of starvation in the woods. He heard someone call out Haymitch's name. Then more people were calling out the drunken mentor's name and cheering…pointing. Gale took a quick glance over his shoulder towards the Capitol's hovercraft then did a double take. He almost tripped over his own feet when he saw Haymitch Abernathy waving at everyone, while standing on the rung of a ladder being lowered into the woods of District Twelve.

"What'd ya say everybody?" Haymitch's voice went out over a loud speaker. "I've got one of our very own victors waiting for ya. Feel like getting the hell out of here and going someplace safe?"

While everyone else broke out into cheers, Bing and Gale felt the impact of Haymitch's message. One victor had made it out of the arena. The question was which one.

…..

…..

Katniss' eyes fluttered opened. The room was white. Above her stood the familiar Avox and an unfamiliar face of a female doctor who was rambling something about loss of blood and a possible concussion. She lifted her hand to her temple, 'Why can't I remember your name?' She asked herself about the Avox. 'Oh, yeah…possible concussion.' Her hand fell to her side. She was too weak to keep it lifted for more than three seconds. "Peeta?" She whispered. Katniss had meant to speak in a regular voice, but it didn't come out that way. The Avox looked sad and gave Katniss a little shrug. 'He's not here.' There was someone else she needed to find out about, but Katniss couldn't remember whose welfare she had to inquire about. The back of her eyes were beginning to burn, she could feel her sinuses swelling, her throat threatening to close. Before the first tear could drip down the side of her cheek she remembered who she needed to ask about. Fear of the answer caused her to wait to ask about the baby. She needed one more minute in which she was still pregnant before hearing the possible answer from the doctor. The room was quiet, dimly lit, a morbid atmosphere as far as Katniss was concerned. She tried to put things together. Figure out where she was. Was she at the Capitol? Being put back together in order to go back into the arena to finish up the Games? Had she won the Games like Peeta had wanted her to? 'Peeta,' her mind went back to him. She could see him now. Lying on the jungle ground as his blood poured out of his wound. His face as white as winter's snow contrasted by the stark streaks of red her blood drenched fingers had left behind when she trailed them across his cheek in a tender caress. Katniss' mouth began moving frantically, no sound was coming out, but warm air was being pushed from between her dry lips as she began talking to herself…to an absent Peeta. "Did you die? Please don't be dead, Peeta. Dear God, you are, aren't you? I can't do this. I can't. Not without you. I don't know if the baby's okay yet, Peeta. I'm too scared to ask. What if I lost it?" She was crying now. Blubbering…sobbing uncontrollably as she continued her silent ranting. "I'll kill myself if I lost this baby. I swear I will. I'll take the first bottle of pills I can find, slice my wrists…I'll take my life if I lost our child. Peeta why didn't we leave? Why did we have to be the faces of the rebellion? Why didn't we just go? Take our families and run? We should've run when we had the chance. We would've found out about the baby during our escape and…and…it would be alive right now. You'd be with me. We'd be a family. We'd be in Thirteen by now. Safe from the Capitol's grasp. Dear God, what did we do? I don't care about anyone else's children! I care about our child! Our baby! I care about you! I want to die." The doctor was walking towards her. "Let me die so I can be with Peeta and the baby. Please let me go."

"Katniss? You need to calm down," the doctor was talking to her, trying to help her.

She had to find out. Not knowing was pure torture. Katniss finally spoke through her sobs. "The baby?"

The look on the physician's face was one of concern. "Things are still a little touchy right now. You've been through a lot. The heartbeat has been fluctuating somewhat, responding to your own body's stress, so you can see why it's imperative that you keep yourself calm…relax. I'd rather not have to give you medications as it's best to keep any form of chemical compounds out of your system, but I will if I have to for the sake of…"

"No," Katniss interrupted the woman. "I'll do whatever I have to." She took several long deep breaths. "You said the heartbeat. Can you hear the baby's heart?"

"Not only hear it, but see it as well." The doctor motioned for a machine to be brought over. "Lay back and try to relax." She placed a palm sized computer in her hand and placed it on Katniss' abdomen. A picture was projected from the machine into the air like a portable television screen.

Katniss studied the odd "C" shaped object the doctor was pointing at. "It looks like a lima bean with sprouts growing out of it," she sniffed and rubbed her nose against the thin gown she was dressed in.

"That's your baby Katniss and if you look right here," the doctor made a circle with her finger around a part of the image then pointed at it. The portion of the picture the doctor touched was now enlarged and had moved closer to Katniss, "See the way this is moving? It looks like a tiny white pond with miniscule water sources flowing into it." Katniss nodded. "That's your baby's heart pumping blood through its system." The doctor flung the image back into place with her index finger. She circled other parts of the lima bean, "The sprouts are actually your child's arms and here is the head…"

Katniss watched as the doctor went over each area one by one with her, even the thin membranes covering the baby's eyes. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"We won't know that for a little while yet as the gender has yet to be determined," the doctor checked a few things on the little machine then shut it off.

"Peeta says it's going to be a girl," Katniss closed her eyes and thought of her husband, wished he was there so he could see their little banana nut. She began moving her lips, speaking silently to Peeta. "It almost looks like a nut, Peeta. You'd love it."

"Men do determine the child's sex, though I don't think they can simply will it to be a particular gender."

"How far along am I?" Katniss asked. She remembered the exact day…moment…second the baby was conceived.

"Approximately seven weeks." The doctor picked up a little computer and typed a few things into it. "Please eat everything that is sent in to you. I watched the Games and noticed you had an adverse reaction prior to every meal. Is there anything in particular that you must stay away from?"

"Lamb stew and hot grain," Katniss answered and felt the tears beginning to slowly trickle down her face again. The image of Peeta sitting across from her in a wet cave, sharing a picnic of lamb stew, warm rolls, goat cheese…admiring the hand painted china pattern, pointing out the beauty of the rocky walls that surrounded them… it was all too much for Katniss to handle. "The baby is so beautiful, Peeta," whenever she spoke to him, there was never any sound, but she looked like she was having a regular conversation with someone. "You can't really make out much, but it's got a head and arms and eyelids…I wonder if it'll have your blue eyes? You'll probably want it to have my eyes though," Katniss sniffed, wiped her nose on her gown and smiled a little. "If it were up to you, we'd have a miniature version of me. Temper and all." She glanced towards the side and saw his smiling face looking back at her. "I never understood why you liked my temper so much. I've been testing people's patience for years, but you and Prim. Even Gale can't stand it when I get moody. You think we have bad fights? Gale and I have literally thrown things at each other…well not at each other…okay, I've thrown things at him and he's thrown things pretty close to me, but not directly at me. One time he did shoot an arrow in my direction. Shot it about five feet above my head. I was so pissed off I ran straight at him and head butted him in the stomach. Knocked the wind out of him and didn't talk to him for almost a week." She pulled the covers over herself and felt her eyelids getting heavy. "I prefer our fights much better. They're much more productive, don't you think? I mean…we scream…yell…boy can we yell and you don't put up with my crap either. You call me on my shit. Gale doesn't really do that, he just argues his point whether he's right or wrong. Doesn't ever try to see my side of things and never really fights with me about the important things." She rolled onto her side gazed lovingly at Peeta who seemed to be just out of reach and for some odd reason he was sitting under the oak tree. "Whenever Gale fights with me it's always about stupid stuff unless it has to do with you. You were always a sore spot for him. On the other hand, you…you fought with me whenever you thought I was doing something wrong. Not just wrong, but something that would hurt me or the people we love. Yup…you never put up with my shit, Peeta. Oh, you argued with me over stupid things too," Katniss grinned a little and finally let her eyes close, "but I knew those fights were so we could make up a little while later. You'd always come up to me…wrap your arms around me from behind and whisper in my ear, 'Katniss, I was stupid. You were right. Guess I was just trying to make a point or something. Can you forgive me?' And I'd always say, 'You were stupid. I don't want to forgive you. I'm still mad at you.' then you'd tell me how much you liked it when I was feisty, which I knew, so I'd play along and pretend I didn't want you to hold me…to touch me…to kiss me, but I did. I wanted you to do all of those things and more, Peeta." She could feel herself falling asleep and being pulled into the warmth of his arms. Hear his heart beating beneath her ear.

"I knew what you wanted, Katniss." She could hear him talking to him now.

"Peeta!" She saw him standing beneath the oak tree waiting for her. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Where are you? No one will tell me a thing."

He held his arms open to her and she ran into them. "Let's not worry about that right now." He kissed the top of her head. "We're together right now and that's all that matters."

"Yeah, but I want you with me all the time, Peeta," Katniss pulled back and looked into his eyes, "not just when I fall asleep."

"Katniss, it'll come to you soon enough," he cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Until it does, can we please enjoy this time we have together?"

She searched his pleading eyes with hers. "Okay, Peeta."

"Good," he placed a kiss against her lips. "Sit with me." He leaned his back against the trunk of the tree. "Tell me everything. How are you? How's the baby?"

Katniss took her usual position between his legs with her back pressed against his chest. "Oh, Peeta, the baby is wonderful…well, not wonderful…its heart has been having a little bit of trouble, but that's because of me. I need to take better care of myself, but I will, don't you worry. I'll be a better mom than I have been." She turned her head a little to get a better look at him. "I saw it today, Peeta. I saw the baby…saw its heart beating. It was…ah…" she sighed, "…heavenly."

"I heard," he told her. "You said it had arms and eyelids."

"You heard me?" She asked him. "I didn't think I was making any noise when I was talking."

"You weren't," he let out a little chuckle. "That's how come I knew what you were saying was meant for me and me alone." He kissed her shoulder. "I could feel your message, Katniss."

"Oh," she let her head fall back against him. "Wrap your arms around me, Peeta."

He quickly obliged. "I've missed my girl," voice strangled with emotion against her ear.

"I've missed you too." She inhaled through her nose and took in the scent of cinnamon and dill. It smelled like their house. It smelled like Peeta. "I was going to kill myself when I thought the baby was dead."

"No, Katniss. No."

"I thought it would be preferable to living without the two of you," she confessed, "but now that the baby is alive I'll do everything in my power to be a good mother and father Peeta, just like you wanted. Even though you're not with me right now, I'll do all I can to…" Katniss' eyes began to dart from side to side, she could feel something warm seeping through her clothes, she inhaled through her nose again and this time the scent that filled her nostrils didn't remind her of their home in Victor's Village, but the last moments in the arena. She looked down at Peeta's arms that were wrapped around her and saw the blood pumping out of his arm like a faucet. "Dear God." She turned around and faced him. "Peeta."

"I was hoping we'd have more time, Katniss, but I guess you need to go now."

"Go? Go where?"

"Back," He was fading away.

"NO!" Katniss was trying to grab onto his shirt…to hold him there with her. "Don't leave me! Where am I going back to?"

"Back to the arena," Peeta faded away.

Katniss opened her eyes and began scanning her surroundings. She could feel her heart beating uncontrollably, her breathing was ragged. 'I don't want to go back,' she thought to herself, but knew she had no choice. As her dream of Peeta faded away her reality invaded. She was about to face the memory of the arena again.

…..

…..

Peeta's eyes flew open; his pulse was pounding as was his head. He could've sworn he was just sitting under the oak tree with Katniss. She had felt so real. She was telling him all about the baby and its progression. He was worried about her though. Something inside of him was telling him she was in danger. 'It was a dream, Peeta. A dream,' he told himself. His eyes were zipping from one end of the room to the other. There were two people in the dark hospital room. A doctor and an Avox. He had never seen the female physician before, but the Avox was familiar to him, had taken care of him and Katniss at the tribute center during the Games. He had to close his eyes. The simple act of focusing on something was causing him to want to throw up. 'Katniss!' He tried to sit up, but his body felt like it was strapped down. 'Oh, Katniss, where are you? What happened?' He had to remember what had happened. He had to figure it out. He had to go back… 'To the arena,' he thought to himself. 'You told Katniss to go back to the arena. Maybe you need to go back there too.' Peeta took a deep breath, forced himself to get control of his racing heart and let himself be pulled back into the sweltering, moist jungle heat.

The Avox stood over Katniss in the dark medical quarters with the doctor on the other side of the hospital bed. Katniss couldn't get her breathing under control. She tried to focus on the things around her, but her thoughts kept going back to the Avox. 'I know you. I know you. Why can't I remember your name? Frigging concussion! Where do I know you from? The Capitol. Of course the Capitol, but I know you from somewhere else too. Home! You're from District Twelve!' Katniss blew out a deep slow cleansing breath and took the Avox' hand. "Stay for a minute." A quick look of panic flashed through the Avox' eyes before the redhead nodded. Katniss was probably going to get the servant punished for speaking directly to the Avox. She released the Avox' hand before closing her eyes. No sense getting the Avox killed. A few more deep breaths before doing what Peeta told her to do. It was time to head back into the arena.

The Gamemakers were up to their old tricks again when it came to temperature control. The sun may have set, but there was no relief when it came to the heat. It was clammy; the kind of hot that made your skin feel like it was sticking to itself when you touched it. The sweat that dripped from your brow had a tendency to burn your eyes from all of the salt you lost and the air was so thick it was like trying to breathe through a sheet of wool.

From the moment Peeta had deciphered Cinna and Portia's code he was looking for a sign of the "rescue mission" and Beetee's plan to kill the Careers was a little too elaborate to knock off two tributes. Eliminating the ocean's supply as a source of food was crazy considering their group was living off of the stuff and they could've easily trapped the Careers another way without the whole electrocution angle. No, Peeta was certain this was the rescue plan Cinna and Portia had told him about. He was excited that the rebels were coming for them, but there were a few things he wasn't too thrilled about. One, he didn't have all the details and two; they wanted him and Katniss to split up. He wasn't too sure what the purpose of that was, but whatever the reasoning, he wasn't about to put Katniss and the baby in danger. When Peeta heard Katniss say she didn't like the fact that the rest of their group was putting banana nut's life at risk, his heart swelled with joy. She really had fallen in love with their baby and was referring to it by the nickname he had given it. The name banana nut might be silly to some, but to Peeta it was his child's name…for now at least. Given to their baby out of love and the only thing they could call the baby except for "it" and he wasn't crazy about calling their baby "it." So hearing Katniss use the name banana nut so freely caused Peeta's heart to swell and he fell in love with her that much more when she used their term of endearment for their child so freely.

No one in their right mind would dream of fighting Katniss when it came to protecting her little banana nut. If any of these people thought they could tell her or Peeta they were going to put their little one at risk because they thought it was the best thing for their plan, rebels or not, Katniss would shoot them all through the eye. She'd kill them all before they'd reach their weapons. As Katniss and Peeta were heading back towards their allies her mind was reeling. 'You people do not want to test me. Try. Just try and tell me and Peeta that I have to get close to a body of water that Beetee's going to electrocute and you'll see how well that goes over. Ever swallow an arrow Johanna? Don't think it'll go too well with that District Seven bread. Peeta thinks you three are going to help get us out of this arena, and that might be the case, he thinks you're going to protect me Finnick, which could be true, but I'm telling all of you, I'll kill you dead before I let you think about hurting our baby. You even twitch an eye at my stomach and you'll be tasting the tip of my arrow.'

Peeta knew Finnick wouldn't endanger their baby. He knew that Katniss would be safe at the lightning tree with him. Too bad Johanna just about blew a gasket over Finnick's decision of keeping Katniss there with him.

Katniss couldn't really say she was shocked when Finnick voted in favor of her staying back, but she was pleasantly surprised when Beetee changed his vote to go with the majority. Peeta had been right about these people. They were there to save them. This plan of Beetee's was so important that they were doing what Peeta wanted, not the man that came up with the plan.

"Say your farewells. I'm sure we're running behind schedule. Beetee, you better get up that tree." Finnick firmly held onto a trident and walked a few feet away from Katniss and Peeta with Johanna by his side.

"I love you." Katniss had to blow out a huge breath of air to try and get a handle on her rapidly shaking composure.

"I love you too. So much. So…" Peeta cupped her cheeks in his hands…placed kisses everywhere along her face, "….so much, Katniss. Be careful. Stay with Finnick." He couldn't stop kissing her. "He'll take care of you."

"I will." She couldn't believe she was letting him go. 'My God,' she thought to herself as she delved into his eyes, 'you could die.' "Peeta?" She tried to be strong, but the alligator tears threatening to fall were betraying her. "We don't have to do this."

"Yes," he kissed the tip of her nose, "We do." From the moment Effie called out Prim's name last year and Katniss volunteered to take her place in the Games, Peeta's main goal in life was to ensure Katniss' safety. Even now, the prospect of both of them getting out of the arena alive meant nothing to him unless Katniss was by his side. She was…is the only thing that had ever mattered to him and trusting her welfare to someone else was terrifying. "Geez…I'm scared."

"Me too." She was biting on her bottom lip now, preventing herself from screaming at him, begging him not to leave her there with Finnick. Suddenly changing her mind, wanting desperately to go back in time and run away with him.

Peeta saw the fear he felt reflected in her eyes. They needed to find the courage they had when Katniss had pulled out that nightlock. "I guess we know what we have to do." He brushed his thumb over the bridge of her nose thinking, 'Your freckles are still my favorite. Freckles…hair then your brain. Oh, Katniss,' His heart ached, 'you are the love of my life.'

"Yeah," she brushed the tears off of his cheeks. Yes, she knew what they had to do. It's what they always did when they needed to draw strength from each other. To face what life was throwing at them. Whether they were being tossed into the arena again or stepping over the threshold and starting their lives together as husband and wife, this had become more than just a ritual to them. It was their way of saying they were of one mind, one heart…one soul and no matter what they were about to face, they would face it together…till the end of time.

Peeta felt Katniss' silky braid glide through his fingers as he locked his eyes with hers. 'You were five when I fell in love with you,' he always thought of the same thing when he made this motion, 'your hair was in two braids instead of…' he mouthed, "One."

Katniss felt Peeta's heart pounding against the flat of her hand, strong and sure. It wasn't just his heart in there, but hers as well, she had given it to him a long time ago and it was his for eternity. "Two," her lips moved.

"Three," their mouths moved together before Peeta dropped to his knees. Katniss had already been crying, but the second Peeta's hands rested against her hips, his thumbs brushed her stomach, his forehead lay upon her belly…her head fell slightly back, there was a lump in her throat the size of a goose egg and she prayed to an unknown entity for the first time in her life, 'Do not let him die. I know I have done some terrible things in my lifetime and I am undeserving, but he is more than good. Peeta is what this world…what this baby needs. Please let him live. Let this baby live. If you allow them to survive…I promise, once the baby is born, you can take me. I will give you my life for theirs. You can take me and I will go, just don't take him or our child." She felt the pressure of Peeta's lips against her stomach and heard him say, "Daddy loves you…always."

Peeta felt a teardrop fall onto his head as he lightly touched his nose to Katniss' stomach. 'You are the love of my life, Katniss…you both are,' he was thinking of her and the beautiful life they had created together. 'Maybe I'll get to meet you one day. I might not though. Either way, you will be loved…you are loved. Oh, Katniss,' Peeta gulped, 'My life started the day that elevator broke down in the mines. If I don't make it out of here, you make sure you…Damn it, Katniss; I don't want you to fall in love with anyone else! I know that makes me selfish, but you're mine.' Peeta sniffed loudly and sucked in a breath. 'Okay. It's okay. You go ahead and love Gale or…whoever you want, but I'd prefer it if it were Gale, because I know he loves you and he'd take care of you the way I would. Maybe not the way I would, but pretty close. God, I don't want to let you go. Either one of you, but I have to. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT!' He cringed. 'I'm sorry banana nut, daddy didn't mean to swear in front of you.' He blew out a hot breath against Katniss' skin. 'Peeta you're stalling,' he thought to himself. He dipped the tip of his nose into Katniss' bellybutton, gently kissed her just below her navel and whispered loudly, "Daddy loves you…always."

How do you say goodbye to your soul mate? To the one person that is literally your better half? The only way you know how.

The back of Katniss' nose was swollen and hot; the back of her throat was threatening to close up. She was making horrible high pitched grunts while tears streamed down her face and her nose ran like a stream into her mouth. She cupped the sides of Peeta's head, laced her fingers through his feathery blond curls and took as deep of a breath as she could.

Between the gulping and the gasping motions Peeta was making, he looked as though he were clucking like a chicken. His blue eyes were completely glossed over from the tears that were still flowing, he continually licked his upper lip due to his runny nose and he was rocking back and forth. Peeta held Katniss' cheeks between the palms of his hands and leaned into her. He hoped this wasn't going to be their last kiss.

Katniss wanted to tell him and only him, how much he meant to her. Her lips moved, "I love you."

Time was ticking. He had to go. "I love you," he mouthed back.

They kept their eyes open.

'Seam grey,' he remembered the phrase from their district.

'Town blue,' she thought.

Full, wet lips, met hot, slightly parted ones. The tips of their tongues barely touched, but they could taste it…taste everything. All the flavors of their emotions were there. Anguish, fear, determination, confidence, panic, horror and above all, the pungent essence of love.

Peeta regretfully pulled away from her, stepped back and dropped his arms to his sides. He memorized her, 'Katniss Mellark…my wife…my wife and my child. I will keep you with me till the day I die and watch over you after my death.' He gave her a nod. 'Time for my girl to set this arena on fire,' he turned away from her and swiftly jogged to Johanna's side.

'One. Two. Three,' Katniss thought to herself after seeing Peeta's expression before he left. 'Don't worry Peeta,' she pulled an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it into the bow, 'I'm ready.'

Finnick gave her a curious once over, "Everything okay?"

She faced her ally, ferocity consumed her from the inside out as she wiped her nose on the piece of moss Finnick handed her then threw it to the side without batting an eye. "Let's do this."

"Good," he jutted his chin forward. "You watch those two sides, I'll watch these." They stood with their backs facing each other and Beetee above them in the lightning tree while Peeta and Johanna headed downhill towards the sea.

Johanna had started off holding Beetee's coil of wire then handed it off to Peeta who quickly figured out if he stuck his fingers in the ends of the roll it would easily unravel behind him while he ran. Making his way towards the beach would be a lot easier without Johanna to worry about, pretty much because she was slowing him down and also because he wanted to keep the woman safe. He wanted to keep all of his friends safe. 'You can do this, Peeta,' He told himself as he sprinted ahead of the woman and left her in his dust.

"Hey! Wait up!" Johanna called out from behind him.

"Stay back, Johanna. Stay on dry land. I'll keep you safe!" He yelled over his shoulder. 'Yeah, he could keep her safe. That's what he was there for, wasn't it? To keep the people of the districts safe?'

"PEETA!" He could hear Johanna bellowing from behind him, but it only encouraged him to push himself that much harder.

'I wonder how you'd feel about this, Katniss? Knowing that I'm risking myself for the woman that calls me cinnamon buns.' There was something wrong with the wire. Peeta glance behind him and saw that it had gone lax then quickly looked down and noticed the loose gold string quickly tangling between his feet. "Son of a…" he tried to free the wire that was caught around his prosthetic, but fell face first against the ground that bordered the jungle and the beach. Dropping the roll, he reached for his knife, ready to cut himself to freedom, stopping himself, thinking they might still need Beetee's weapon and it would be useless if it were shredded to pieces. He stabbed the tip of his blade into the sand, working his fingers on the delicate knots. "Johanna, I can't get the UGH!" Her knee caught him in the stomach by surprise knocking the wind out of him as she pounced, both hands pushing him flat on his back.

She yanked his knife from the earth and plunged it deep into his left arm. "Stay down, Peeta," Johanna's voice was low and urgent. "For Christ sake, stay down." She was digging the tip of the blade into his arm in search of something.

"Arrrrrrgh," Peeta was struggling to catch his breath, felt Johanna's knees digging into his upper arms, pinning him to the ground. The bottom half of his body was flopping around like a fish causing his legs to get further tangled in the wire. Johanna's knee slipped into his armpit and he reached up with his right hand, dug his fingers deep into the root of her scalp and pulled as hard as he could trying to rip her hair from her head.

"Remember the first time we met, Peeta?" Johanna had to keep her voice down. The knife in her hand was slipping, cutting things it wasn't supposed to cut. "Our conversation? I do. Now trust me and stay still."

The first time they met was the night he and Katniss were crowned victors of the Hunger Games almost a year ago. Peeta let his hand drop from her scalp and kept his arm still. It was at the Capitol hideout. That was the night he was brought into the rebellion. He let his eyes drift to the spot on his arm Johanna was working the tip of the knife into. 'The tracker,' he realized. 'She's removing my tracker.' "Katniss!" He yelled out to her. "Katniss!" She needed to get hers out too.

Johanna bent down and whispered in Peeta's ear, "Finnick's taking care of hers. Got it," Johanna yanked it from Peeta's arm and he could feel something rip from inside of his flesh. "It's been a real blast, cinnamon buns. Now stay here till I draw the attention away from you." Peeta felt his knife being placed in his wounded hand and heard the sound of the Careers in the background then Johanna's voice once she was a few yards away. "You son of a bitch! BASTARD! You're dead Peeta! DEAD! DO YOU HEAR ME TWELVE? I'M COMING FOR YOU!" Peeta had no doubt that Johanna was making enough noise to lure the Careers away from him as well as doing something with his tracker so the Capitol would have no clue where he was.

He waited a minute before trying to stand up though he thought it might have been too long when he saw how much blood he was losing. Johanna must've cut something important in there without knowing it. He reached for his knife so he could cut down some moss and a piece of vine to wrap around his arm as a bandage, but he was a bit too lightheaded. 'You've got to do this,' he told himself. 'For Katniss.' "Katniss," he whispered. "Katniss," he said her name a little louder. He grabbed a hold of the knife, let his arms sprawl out to the side, counted backwards from ten, not realizing that the golden sand next to him was getting stained red, before forcing himself to his feet and screaming at the top of his lungs, "KATNISS!"

Katniss paced around the lightning tree, waiting…wondering…hoping and fighting off the horrible feeling that lurked within her. "What the hell is taking Beetee so long?" She spoke to Finnick over her shoulder. "He needs to get out of that tree before the lightning hits or he's going to get fried."

"Yeah, I know." Finnick called up to the man. "Beetee, you almost done with that thing?"

"Almost. The wire is caught on something." Beetee hollered down to them. "Finnick, perhaps you should go take a look."

Finnick nodded his head and took off running down the hill without saying two words to Katniss. 'Now what the hell is that all about?' She wondered. 'Peeta said he wouldn't leave my side, yet he's running like a bat out of hell away from me.' Katniss followed Finnick's trail with catlike stalking prowess, not making a sound and watched him as he took out his knife and cut the wire Peeta and Johanna were leading to the ocean. "What the hell are you doing?" An arrow was aimed at Finnick's heart. "Peeta said I could trust you. He said you wouldn't kill me." It was the one and only reason Finnick Odair was still breathing.

"Katniss," Finnick practically jumped out of his skin, "you can trust me. I swear to you, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then why did you do that," she motioned towards the cut wire with her chin.

"Because I'm trying to save you…both of you." He slid the knife back into his belt and lifted both of his hands into the air. "I'm unarmed, Katniss. I'll hand you all of my weapons if you want me to, though I'd rather not be defenseless against the Careers."

"I thought this wire was supposed to kill them anyway. Why would you need your weapons if this wire was supposed to kill them?" She asked through narrow eyes.

"Please Katniss, you have to trust me." Finnick begged her.

A loud and quick zap sounded from above the lightning tree. "Beetee!" Katniss and Finnick raced towards the last place they had seen the man. "Where is he?" They searched all around the tree. "Do you see him?"

"No," Finnick's head was flying from side to side as he called out, "Beetee! Beetee!"

Katniss had a choice to make. Peeta said this plan had nothing to do with killing the Careers, maybe that's why Finnick had to cut the wire. "Want me to trust you?" Peeta trusted Finnick, but Katniss needed the man to earn hers. "Spot me."

"Peeta wouldn't want you to climb that tree, Katniss. It's too high," Finnick's face showed concern for her, not for what she might find up there. "It's almost lightning time!"

"Spot me!" She flung her weapon over her shoulder, scrambled up the tree like a squirrel and found evidence of Beetee's plan, but not the man himself. Two branches were wrapped with the gold wire. One was haphazardly coiled with the stuff and the wire led towards the ocean. That was the one Finnick had cut. The other was carefully woven around a branch; a piece of wire led from the branch into the center of the tree and was hidden by a leaf. Katniss lifted the leaf and saw a square shaped box hollowed out inside of the tree. It reminded her of the silver box in the basement of her house in Victor's Village. Peeta called it an electrical conduction unit. It controlled everything that worked with electricity in their home. Katniss took about ten seconds to look at the miniature version of the unit and saw the tiny magnet that was now gold in color, resembling a thicker version of the wire, and all the lines inside of the box that had been stripped of their rubber housing and their wiring exposed, stuck to the golden magnet which Katniss now believed was more than just a magnet. Her eyes followed the longer gold line that led from the branch down towards the jungle and into a cluster of trees. She squinted and did a visual search then her sight landed on a figure lying right at the edge of the beach. "PEETA!" She slammed the leaf back onto the box and practically slid all the way down the tree.

Katniss feet hit the ground, her hands reached for her bow and arrow as Finnick said with concern in his voice. "What's going on? Did you see Beetee?"

"No," she was shaking her head back and forth. "But we need to go. Now!"

"Why?" Finnick was chasing after her.

"There's trouble down at the beach." She wove through the trees, making her way through the hanging vines and thick tropical terrain.

"What…" Finnick got smacked in the face with a branch from one of the palm trees. "What kind of trouble."

"Peeta." Katniss jumped over a large root and narrowed in on her targeted area. "I…" Simply saying it out loud turned her blood to ice. "I think he's dying."

From behind her she could hear determination in Finnick's voice, "Not if I can help it." The next thing she knew her ally was no longer running clumsily behind her, but keeping pace alongside of her. "Listen. Do you hear that?"

It was Peeta. "Peeta?" Katniss could hear him calling out to her. "Peeta!" She ran further downhill screaming to him. "I'm here Peeta! I'm here!" Not caring in the least who heard her beckoning for him. She'd kill whoever came between her and her husband without batting an eye.

The sound of Katniss' voice was all Peeta needed as a source of motivation. When he had forced himself to stand he wasn't quite sure what to do. He thought about using his shirt to staunch the blood flow from his arm, but taking it off would probably cause more harm than good. 'Think like a healer. What would Prim do? Hell, what would Katniss do? She's the one that's saved his life in the arena before. Come on girls. What do I do?' He asked himself. Searching the jungle with his eyes he found the moss that Katniss had used as a bandage for Beetee's wound and sliced a good portion of it off along with some vines. Padding his arm the best he could with one hand, Peeta wrapped the vines around it and used his free hand and his teeth to tie it into place. "Katniss!" He lifted his foot, to find it unmoving. 'The wire.' Slicing himself free from his tangled web, he began to stumble towards the sound of her voice, using many of the trees that surrounded him as leverage. "Katniss! KATNISS!"

"Peeta! Where are you?" Katniss could hear him, she could feel him near, but she couldn't see him. "Dear God, Peeta," she said to herself, "stop calling for me. They'll hear you. I'll find you." She stopped racing around and tried to use her hunter's senses.

"What are you doing?" Finnick stared at her as though she had lost her mind.

"Shut up!" Katniss closed her eyes and listened carefully. "Stay still. Don't move. Don't breathe." There was no wind. It was a still, muggy, hot dense night. They might as well have been standing in the middle of a thick bowl of greasy gelatin. There were grunting sounds…a man and a woman metal against metal coming from the ocean. 'Peeta?' Katniss quickly dismissed the idea. 'That's not your voice.' Crunching…a branch being stepped on…not by an animal…by a human. A soft moan…like a wounded animal…

"Katniss! Katniss!" Peeta was calling to her.

Katniss' eyes flew open, her bow and arrow was held out in front of her, ready to kill whatever crossed her path, though the way it was shaking, she wasn't sure if she'd hit her target, let alone kill it. "Peeta!" The shaking in her voice put her bow to shame. "Peeta!" She whipped her head towards the side of the jungle where the crunching came from. "This way."

"You sure?" Finnick asked her.

"Yes. He's out there and he's hurt."

"How do you know it's a he?" Finnick followed her through the trees. "It could be Johanna."

"It's not Johanna!" Katniss could hear the moaning getting louder and headed towards it. "Come on!"

Finnick could hear it too; "I think it's coming from this waaaa" he tripped over Beetee's prone form. "Beetee."

"Beetee," Katniss knelt down next to the seriously injured man. "Who did this to you?" She quickly examined his wound, applying pressure to it. All she got in reply was a moan. "Finnick, you'll need to keep your hand pressed hard against…"

"I'm not a healer Katniss," Finnick stood up and turned his head towards the sound of Peeta's cry.

"Katniss! Katni…"

Katniss jumped to her feet. "I have to find him. Now! He's hurt and I'm not staying here while he's out there!"

"I'll find him." Finnick put his hands on her shoulders and stared her in the eyes. "I promise you, I'll find him Katniss. You stay here and take care of Beetee."

How was she supposed to put her trust into this man? Only minutes ago she was pointing an arrow at his heart. The only reason he's alive is because Peeta trusted him. 'I trust him, Katniss,' she could hear Peeta's voice in her head. 'I trust him.'

"You've got five minutes." Katniss unwillingly went back to her patient. "If you're not back, I'm looking for him." She ripped down a handful of moss and pressed it against Beetee's wound. "Leave!" she snapped. "Clock's ticking!"

The earth appeared to be coming up to meet him as Peeta followed the sound of Katniss' voice. The moss he had wrapped around his arm was saturated with blood which was now dripping down his arm, hands and fingers, leaving a very obvious trail to him. "Katniss! Katni…" his voice gave out as did his legs. Peeta fell to his knees as the arena started to fade away. His face hit the dirt, his eyelids fluttered closed. Shortly after his head began to bob up and down and then he hit the ground again. 'I'm here, Katniss,' his heart called out to her. 'I love you…love our baby.' He let his eyes drift open when he heard the sound of the cannon fire and could've sworn he saw Finnick, but it must've been a figment of his imagination. "Don't you worry. Finnick will get you out of here and when he does, you'll take good care of our little one even if it isn't with me by your side. God, Katniss, I really wanted it to be with me. Is it selfish of me to be jealous of Gale right now? I'm dying Katniss. I don't want to die. I entered this arena thinking I was going to and now all I want to do is live…I want to live…for you…for our baby. Have that life you talked about…be a family. We could do that you know? We'd be a great family." His eyes were getting heavy. "How many kids should we have?" He let himself live his last minutes in a fantasy world where life was good…more than good, it was miraculous. "You probably wouldn't want more than just banana nut, but I want more. I'd fill our house up if I could. You know, I probably could fill our house up with kids, but I don't think you'd be too keen on spending the next decade barefoot and pregnant so…how about four?" He could hear her complaining about the amount of kids he suggested.

"FOUR? No way!"

"Glad I didn't suggest eight like I wanted," his eyes were closed as his lips lifted in a tiny grin.

"I'll agree to three." There was her voice again. Oh, how he wished it were real.

"Three's a terrible number. Middle child and all…" He could feel her presence. She was saying something to him, but he didn't know what. 'My God,' he thought, 'She's here. She's actually in front of me.'

"If we live through this, I'll have four kids…I'll have eight kids…I'll have as many as you want Peeta Mellark, as long as I can raise them with you," Katniss stared into his listless eyes, meaning every word, hoping it would give him some incentive.

"It'll be okay, Katniss. We're together now," he whispered hoarsely to her, his pulse pounding at the mere sight of her, causing his blood to flow freely.

She fumbled with his makeshift bandage wrapped around his arm, trying to tighten the now slippery vines. It was a lost cause. Did she say it for his benefit…for hers or for both of them, she'd never know, but she forced herself to believe it. "We're getting out of here, Peeta. You'll see." Her dainty fingertips skimmed across his pale white cheek, longing to feel the smooth skin that had brushed against hers in the most intimate moments of her life. The micro fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge, ice water ran through her veins and Katniss' bright, silver eyes turned a pale shade of gray at the contrast of colors before her. Peeta's striking white skin with vivid red streaks of blood in the shape of her fingers smeared across his face. "Peeta…" She had to get him out of there before it was too late. She needed to end this madness.

Peeta had to get things back on track before they missed their opportunity to get out of the arena. Beetee's plan was supposed to include the lightning bolt. There was no way for them to get out of the arena since there was a force field around them. 'The force field!' Peeta finally realized the extent of Beetee's plan. He was going to get rid of the force field. 'But how?' He asked himself. He saw it…Beetee's knife lying to his side with the gold wire wrapped around it and remembered Katniss telling him she could see the force field. Beetee and Wiress had told her how during training. 'That's why they needed Nuts and Volts. To get rid of the force field…because they were the only ones that could see it. No,' he corrected himself, 'not the only ones.' He looked at Katniss and tried to send her a message, hoped to God she'd understand the hidden meaning. "It's almost midnight."

Katniss could hear Peeta telling him clear as day that it was almost time to complete the rebel's escape plan. "What…I'm not sure what to do?"

"You know what to do, Katniss." Peeta could've pushed the wire towards Katniss instead he pushed Beetee's knife towards her, telling her, 'Beetee was looking for something up there…something particular. Something only you can see now.'

Katniss stared at Beetee's knife, saw the gold wire and listened intently to the voices in her head leading her to the decision that would either save or kill them all. She cleared her mind of all distractions. Finnick screaming out Johanna's name…gone. 'You've got this Katniss.' Night creature noises…gone. 'You've shot thousands of arrows in your lifetime. This is just one more. Pretend you're shooting at the Gamemakers.' The pounding of her pulse in her ears…gone. 'The first time you shot at them you missed.' There was only one thing she heard.

"Shoot straight, Katniss," Peeta whispered from his position on the ground below her.

'I love you Peeta Mellark.' The words he had spoken to her a year ago…a lifetime ago, was exactly what she had needed to hear, and like the apple in the Gamemakers' roasted pig's mouth, the arrow hit the center of its target just as the lightning hit the tree.

Watching the silver bolt streak across the black sky reminded Peeta of watching a hot glass crack when something ice cold was placed inside of it. It would start at the base and then fork out into separate branches. The main crack hit the towering tree, the gold wire illuminated…electrified the dome of the arena and light showered down upon them, a snowfall of dazzling white sparks. For a brief second he could see Katniss surrounded by a radiant white light, feel her body pressing against his own. All he wanted to do was hold her…tell her he loved her one last time, but he had no energy. 'I love you, Katniss,' he was hoping she could read his thoughts, feel everything he was feeling. 'I've loved you my whole life long. I'll always love you.'

"Peeta," Katniss felt his blood seeping through her flimsy undergarments. "I have to check your wound before you bleed out." She felt his fingers slipping from her back, his hands slowly sliding off of her and she knew he was losing consciousness. "Don't you leave me, Peeta! Stay with me," she spoke in his ear, forcing herself to keep a steady voice, doing a poor job of it. "Stay with me."

Peeta looked up to the dark sky and saw the bright lights slowly fading away and darkness taking its place. A moon…some stars… Katniss had done it. She had set them free from the Gamemakers' trap. Even if the rebels couldn't get to them, she could still make a run for it and get out of the arena. Finnick could get her tracker out of her arm and they could get away.

Katniss could feel his arms sliding off of her body, his heart rate slowing down beneath her own. "Stay with me!"

"Always." He closed his eyes in the hopes that she would remember what he told her the night before when they were sitting on the beach and he had given her the locket for the baby.

"No. No!" Katniss pushed herself up, searched his belt for his knife then proceeded to cut the vines off of his arm to inspect the gash in his arm. "What the hell?" It was remarkably close to the same injury as Beetee's with the exception of one thing. Peeta's cut was deeper and looked like it nicked a very important vein. With each beat of his heart blood pumped out of the cut, each beat a little less blood. Katniss reached inside of the wound, knowing she had to keep it clamped or he'd die in minutes. Since hoping on board the tribute train she had been an emotional wreck. Crying over the stupidest things. But Katniss Mellark, expectant mother wasn't sitting alongside of Peeta at that moment in time. Katniss Everdeen, Girl on Fire was. "Okay. I Need to get this stitched up somehow," she began talking out loud to Peeta regardless of the fact that he couldn't hear her. "I need a needle and thread…where am I going to get that out here? And I don't have long either…hmmm…any ideas?" Her eyes began to scan her surroundings; her fingers were getting slick and slippery with his blood as she held on tight to his vein preventing the blood from escaping when a thought hit her. "Mags! Mags made a fish hook and line out of my hair while we were in training. I mean…my hair's not the most sanitary option, but it's better than nothing." She looked down at Peeta's unconscious form and asked, "What do you think?" Of course, he said nothing. "Good. We've got that part covered. Now all we need is something to stitch you up with. If Finnick were around we could ask him to help out. He's a fisherman. I bet he'd know what we could use." Her face contorted. "Think I could tie some of this electrical wire around your vein and use it like an internal tourniquet? That might wor…" Her ears perked up when she heard heavy footfalls. "Shhh," she held Peeta's knife in her free hand. "It could be a Career," she whispered to Peeta.

"Katniss! Peeta!" It was a Career. Finnick Odair called out at the top of his lungs in search of them. "Katni…"

"Finnick!" She turned to Peeta. "See Peeta. Help's here. Finnick, we're over here!"

"Katniss!" Finnick came up to them lugging a semi-conscious Johanna with him. "How's he doing?"

"Not good. I need to stitch him up, but I don't have a needle. Can you make one? Like a flat fish hook?" Katniss asked.

"We don't have time, Katniss. We have to get your tracker out before they get here," Finnick reached for the hand that was holding Peeta's vein.

"NO! If I let go he'll die," her eyes filled with fear. "I can't let go, Finnick."

"You have to or we'll all die. Is that what you want?" Finnick appeared to be crazed. "We're running out of time now, Katniss. There's literally seconds until Haymitch and Plutarch get here and minutes until the Capitol does too, so please…I'm begging you…for all of our sakes…don't argue! I need to cut your tracker out now!"

"I'll take care of Peeta," Johanna slowly blinked. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it," she said to Katniss.

"Slip your fingers into the cut next to mine," Katniss ordered her. "Slide your thumb and index finger across the vein until they're right next to mine and then pinch the spot that I'm pinching. Do not let go Johanna. You cannot let go. If you feel something leaking out, that means you aren't clamping that spot tight enough."

"Got it." Johanna quickly did what Katniss told her.

"Give me the knife," Katniss took it from Finnick's hand and slid it into her own skin…cringing slightly…gritting her teeth…not screaming…her only concern was getting the tracker out of her arm and then getting Peeta to safety. "Where the hell is this thing?" She glanced at Finnick's arm and tried to remember Beetee's wound, it was obvious to her now that he had inflicted his own injury and removed the Capitol's device.

"It should be about a half an inch under the skin," Finnick answered.

"Peeta's was deeper," Johanna said squeezing her eyes and giving her head a little shake, looking like she was trying to ward off a headache. "I really had to dig that thing out."

"You did that to him?" Katniss was furious. "He's almost dead you know?"

"Yeah, well, we're all going to be dead if you don't get that damn tracker out of your arm so shut up and start digging it out!" Johanna countered with viciousness in her voice, a contradiction to the haze that still lingered in her eyes.

"I…ugh…" the tip of the blade was deep inside of her flesh and threatening to do serious damage to her. "If I go any deeper with this knife I'm going to wind up like Peeta…maybe worse." Katniss held Finnick's worried gaze with her own. "The second I pull the tracker out, you're going to have to try and get a hold of the vein they shot the tracker below."

"How do you know it's below a vein?" Finnick asked in a childlike tone. "It could be anywhere. Like…like…"

"It…it's there," the sound of Peeta's voice took all of them by surprise. "They put it there in case we tried to remove them," he whispered hoarsely, "assuming that Katniss and I would die, but they didn't know my wife really is a remarkable healer."

The sounds around her faded into darkness and all Katniss could hear was the calm of Peeta's voice. "About time you came to. I was sick and tired of talking to myself like a lunatic." She turned to Finnick. "Depending on the damage I do we've got a matter of minutes or seconds before I'm dead, so get ready." She gave Finnick a little nod of encouragement.

"Finnick," the startlingly handsome victor turned towards Peeta. "Don't forget what you promised me last night." Peeta was counting on Finnick's promise to make sure Katniss left this arena alive no matter what. He received a nod and saw Finnick swallow then turn his head towards Katniss to watch and help.

"You may have to take over Finnick," Katniss was swallowing mouth after mouth full of saliva. "Pull the tracker out for me. Don't…really think…" she was getting short of breath; her loss of blood was beginning to make her lightheaded. "You…get…it…out." Her chin dropped against her chest as she felt….heard the sound of the tracker being ripped from her flesh. It reminded her of the man Finnick had killed for her at the Cornucopia on the first day in the arena, the sounds his body had made from the trident being pulled from his lifeless body. Finnick's fingers were fumbling, almost sliding around the inside of her arm. "Stop…the bleeding…Finnick," she urged him as forcefully as she could, but with each beat of her heart she could feel the life being drained from her. There was only one thing…only one comforting thought helping her get through this. If she was going to die, at least she and Peeta would go together. Neither one of them would have to be put through the hell of living without the other.

"There," Finnick called out. He threw Katniss' tracker as far away from them as he possibly could. "Think I've got it?"

"Don't ask me brainless. I don't even know if I'm still holding onto his…whatever the hell I'm supposed to be holding onto." Johanna said to Finnick. "Where they hell are they? Shouldn't they have been here by…"

They leaves on the trees began to rustle. The wind grew forceful and strong. "I had to get rid of her tracker!" Finnick called out.

"Well, it's gone now." Johanna and Finnick lifted their eyes to the hovercraft. "Think they'll take him or her first?" Johanna asked.

"She's going first," Finnick answered. "She has to."

Peeta reached for Katniss' hand with his free one. "Time to go," he mouthed.

"I hate leaving you here…even for a second," Katniss mouthed back, her weak, blood covered fingers entwined with his. Normally she'd fight him, try to make him go first, but their child went before either one of them and right now it was taking up residency within her.

"Come on Peeta," Johanna did her best to try and get him up to his feet. "We've got to move you or that claw won't be able to pick her up.

"Okay," he spoke as loudly as he could, but it was barely above a whisper. Peeta's focus was back on Katniss. "I'll be right behind you." He dragged his fingers out of her clutch.

She took in a sharp breath of air the second she felt how empty and cold her hand had become when Peeta's let go. "Stay with me," Katniss couldn't get any sound out.

"Always," Peeta was on his feet now, sliding them backwards. Johanna held onto him for dear life. How she did it, he'd never know. He didn't even remember getting up from the ground, only that he watched as the claw picked up both Finnick and Katniss at the same time with part of Beetee's belt getting hooked onto something and his frail body dangling, limply from the claw like a piece of seaweed at the end of a fishing line. They had no clue if the man was dead or alive.

Katniss could hear Finnick yelling at whoever was onboard the hovercraft to hurry up and send the claw back down. Peeta didn't have enough strength for the ladder, but they didn't have time for that. The ladder was already on its way down before the claw had even made it inside of the flying machine. She was screaming, fighting with whoever was in her vicinity that she wanted to wait for Peeta. Heard a voice ask to give her a sedative, but was told it wasn't the best thing to do in her condition. Felt her arm being forced down to her side and a soft female voice explaining to her that she was getting a temporary fix for her injury that would enable her to wait for Peeta, but only if Katniss would stop fighting everyone. "Okay," Katniss answered the doctor, who seemed to be the only person on her side. "I won't fight. Please…just…please…" Katniss peered out the large hole the in floor of the hovercraft and watched as Peeta and Johanna stumbled towards the ladder. "Come on, Peeta. Come on. Just get to the damn ladder!"

"I'm not sure if I'm going to make it, Johanna." Peeta could feel his legs buckling. "But I'll die trying." The ladder was only a few feet ahead.

"Peeta, I can't let go of this thing in your arm. Katniss said you could die if I did and I think I actually believe her so you're going to have to grab the rung and hold on tight. Think you can do that?" Johanna asked with the most hope Peeta had ever heard in her voice.

"Told you I'd die trying." Peeta looked up at the ladder; it hadn't quite reached the ground yet, and threw his right hand up. He grabbed onto it and saw Katniss waiting for him at the top.

"He's got it!" She screamed out. "Turn on the current! Freeze him in place!"

In the back of his mind he could hear Prim's voice ask him on that fateful winter's day…

"You're right handed, aren't you Peeta?"

The day the new Head took a whip to his hand and Peeta lost all sensations in his fingers. Life was suddenly moving in slow motion as the first two fingers of his hand slipped off the rung of the ladder, quickly followed by his ring finger and pinky. Peeta heard the electrical current turning on about a second too late, but Katniss' screams would stay with him forever.

"Peeta!"

"I'll stay with you, Katniss." He and Johanna lay on their backs, she had lost her grip on his vein, but it no longer mattered. The hovercraft was out of sight and another had quickly taken its place. Peeta closed his eyes and spoke to her in his mind. 'If you talk to me, I'll listen. If you need me. I'll be there. My love will always protect you…both of you. I told you a long time ago, I would never leave you and I won't. I'm with you right now. All you have to do is let yourself feel me and you'll know I never left…I never will. I'll stay with you.' He opened up his eyes to see the claw reaching for him and Johanna. "Always, Katniss. Always."

Katniss began pounding on the floor of the metal hovercraft. "PEEEETA!" The miniature device the doctor locked onto her forearm staunching the blood flow was knocked out of place as Katniss practically threw herself back into the arena.

"We have to go back!" Finnick was screaming as the sight of the jungle got further and further away from them.

"PEETA! Peeta!" Katniss fought with everyone around her until finally she ran towards the hole in the floor, which was quickly closing up. She was tossed back, flung into the side of the hovercraft, hitting her head against something metal and now there was blood coming from her arm as well as her scalp. The room began to sway. She could hear voices, but had no clue who was saying what as the world faded away into darkness.

"….electrical shock! What kind of damage to the baby!?"

"She's lost a lot of blood. I don't know if I can save them both."

"Save them both! You don't then you might as well let them both die! That's all she's got left!"

"I tried, Katniss. I begged them to turn around, but they wouldn't."

"We'll be arriving in Thirteen soon, sweetheart. As soon as we can work up a rescue plan, we'll get him out. We'll get Peeta and Effie out of there."

'Peeta,' Katniss sighed as she lay in a hospital bed thinking about a bloody, lifeless Peeta. 'Are you okay? I talk to you everyday and I swear the people around here think I'm insane. Of course it's only been three days so… I guess they can't classify me as insane until I reach the one week mark of talking to myself.' She rolled onto her back and rubbed her fingers under her navel. "I don't know who to trust out here Peeta," her silent conversation with him began. "There's Finnick, but he's crazier than I am. Always crying…sobbing really. I'd feel bad for the guy, but I've got enough of my own problems. Haymitch…I don't know what's going on with him. I talk about getting you out of the Capitol and all he wants to do is break out Effie. I love Effie, I do. God knows you do too, but what the hell has Effie Trinket done that's so life threatening? I tried to sneak into one of their stupid meetings while we were on the hovercraft and she was all they were talking about. She had found out some information about something… I don't know about what, but they said they could hear her and then they said they were going to Twelve. How could they hear Effie and why would they go to Twelve? See what I mean? I don't know who to trust. No one has told me a thing…or you for that matter. I know for a fact they never let you in on half this stuff. We wondered about Thirteen…if it existed… It does and I'm here. Okay…we knew it existed, but not because they told us, because Effie told us and Haymitch still doesn't know that I knew about this place. I didn't know it was underground, but how am I supposed to trust him? God I'm glad Effie did what she did to Plutarch. You know Peeta, we thought we were part of this rebellion, thought we had an idea of what was going on, but we didn't. I don't think we ever did. I think they told us just enough to keep us involved and kept the important information to themselves. Why didn't they tell us about the rescue sooner? The others knew, why didn't we?" Katniss rolled back onto her side. "You don't want to hear about that though. You want to hear about banana nut, don't you? The baby's okay for now. I lost a lot of blood and there's the whole concussion thing…and don't start with me about bringing it on myself because I can just hear you saying that." Katniss let out a soft sigh as she imagined the sound of Peeta's voice telling her if she hadn't tried to jump out of the hovercraft she'd never have suffered a concussion. "I miss you." She could feel the tears burning the back of her eyes, her throat closing up, signs that it was time to end the talk that kept her sane, even if everyone thought it was a sign of insanity. "Are you okay, Peeta? Are you alive? Are you hurt? Well…wherever you are I hope you know how much I love you," she ran her hand over her stomach; "we love you. Oh, we love you so much, Peeta. Come home to us soon."

Across the country Peeta stood at the edge of a dark stage getting ready for his interview with one Caesar Flickerman. "Are you ready, Peeta?" Portia asked him. She looked a bit more peaked than usual, but who didn't these days, except Peeta of course.

"As ready as I can be," he answered.

"Let me just make sure…" Portia walked around him in a circle. "You look fabulous. That body polish really put a sparkle on you."

"Yeah, because that's what I care about," Peeta said sarcastically. "A sparkling glow."

"You may not, but Katniss will." Portia took Peeta's hands in her own. "When and if she watches this interview she's going to be looking for signs…any signs of injuries and when she sees you looking so dapper…"

Peeta squeezed Portia's hands. "Thanks, Portia." He was humiliated by the way he was behaving. "I'm sorry I took my bad mood out on you."

"Okay, Peeta," Caesar stopped next to him and directed him towards the chairs in the center of the stage that was now fully lit. "You'll take your usual seat and I'll take mine and…oh," he flapped his hand, "You know how it works."

"Of course, I do. Hell, Caesar," Peeta dropped Portia's hands and followed him to the stage, "I still might take your job after all." There was a devilish twinkle in Peeta's eyes when he saw the host's reaction. He had often wondered if Caesar was like all of the other oblivious Capitol residents or Snow's puppet. "Or maybe you're in the market for a co-host? What do you think about that?" Peeta watched as the man swallowed then played it off. 'Snow's puppet,' Peeta thought to himself after hearing Caesar's reply.

"Well, if you can get the job, I say kudos to you." Caesar pointed towards one of three cameras. "We'll only be using this one today since this is being prerecorded."

"No live audience?" Peeta knew why they weren't going to play his interview live, they had to save it…play it when they could get the most leverage out of it.

"Shall we get started?" Caesar asked him.

"Why not?" Peeta was ready for anything. He had thought about this since they told him he was going to be doing the interview the night before. How should he play it? Should he be full on rebel supporter? Stand up for those that were currently out there fighting in the face of freedom? Or should he play stupid and claim he knew nothing of the rebellion and wasn't quite sure what to think about him and Katniss' being used as symbols across their nation? It wasn't until he was dragged in for a meeting that morning that Peeta made his decision on what to do…how to play the interview. Lights. Camera. Action.

…..

…..

"What do you think, Mr. President?" Effie Trinket asked from the furthest corner of the stage.

"To be honest, I'm surprised with Peeta's responses to Caesar's questions," the President faced Effie. "Tell me, Miss. Trinket. What makes you think this will work?"

With a bit of a lilt in her voice, a conniving grin playing upon her lips and an arched brow, Effie replied, "Have you ever been fishing Mr. President?" She flattened her gloved fingertips against her chest, "I myself have not, but from what I understand, you must have excellent bait." She cast her glance in Peeta's direction.

"I've always left the fishing to the…scourge of District Four, however…" President Snow eyed up Peeta as he answered Caesar's questions, "…I imagine with bait such as that young man, we're bound to have ourselves quite a catch." His blood thirsty smile curled the ends of his lips. "You are sheer genius Miss. Trinket. Perhaps we should've had you infiltrate the rebellion even sooner."

"Perhaps," Effie flashed him her trademark smile as they listened to the rest of Peeta's interview.

The End

Coming soon

Mockingjay: Broken Wings

They've set a nation on fire, rekindled their love for one another and created a life in the process, yet there's a traitor in the rebellion that threatens the success of the uprising. Join Katniss and Peeta as they face war, personal tragedy, triumph, loss and continue to fight for the one thing that matters to them…love.