What If?

Disclaimer: The plot is mine, nothing else.

Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed throughout the arena. The news was unbelievable. Never in history had this happened before. This year, after seventy-three had passed, the Capitol would be allowing two, instead of one, victors to return home. There would be double the amount of winners for the Hunger Games this time. And I knew this had to be because of Peeta and I. Gale was right, all they wanted was a good show. So, what better than to have the 'Star-Crossed Lovers of District 12' conquer and return back with one another? But then I thought, why did the new rules state that the two victors didn't have to necessarily be from the same district? If they wanted for Peeta and me to come out victoriously, why wouldn't they at least make an exception to where the winners had to be a team?

With this odd twist in mind, I looked around the small cave I shared with my fellow tributes: Rue and, of course, Peeta. I instantly knew that neither of us would be capable of killing the twelve year old girl. Yet, with only Thresh and Foxface remaining, how else could it happen? There was no way Thresh would kill Rue, being that they both came from District 11. And Foxface…well she hadn't so much as touched another tribute throughout her stay in the arena. If anything, the red-head would stay in hiding until the four of us took each other out.

I sighed. This was impossible. The only reasonable outcome I could see was Rue and Peeta. They were both so innocent and kind-hearted. Those two deserved to live more than any of us combined. Plus, if Peeta and Rue were the ones to win the Hunger Games, the Capitol would lose in a way. The Gamemakers would not be getting what they had set out for, proving that they could be outwitted. They, along with the rest of Panem, will have assumed incorrectly by believing that I would willingly kill Rue for my own sake just to make it out with Peeta.

So, there it was; my new plan: Get Peeta and Rue out alive at all costs.

"Why would they do that?" I heard Rue ask.

"I'm not sure," I lied, "Maybe they thought it would be better to have not only two victors, but that they should each come from separate districts, as well."

Rue merely shrugged while Peeta gave me a searching look, as if he knew what I was secretly plotting. I prayed that wasn't the case, though. Hopefully he simply thought I was trying to comfort Rue by allowing her to think she still stood a chance.

"Still," Peeta spoke up, "It's hard to imagine the-"

But I never had the chance to find out just what he was 'imagining'. Midway through his sentence, a canon sounded, soon after revealing the face of our fallen tribute: Foxface.

"Great; just great", I thought. Sure, I didn't have much faith riding on the other girl saving me the trouble of going after Thresh…but it was still a nice idea.

"Should I go find him?" Rue looked towards Peeta and me for the answer after stepping back into the cave. I knew what she was thinking. She wanted to run off into the unknown while it was still dark out so that she could either die from whatever may be lurking in the arena or from Thresh if she had actually, somehow, managed to locate him.

"No," I shook my head, "Once it gets lighter outside, we'll go to the Cornucopia," I informed them both. I mean, it would have come down to this eventually, right? Thresh would've found us at some point. And if not, the Gamemakers would have driven us together, possibly killing one or two of us in the process.

"Are you sure?" Peeta inquired. "I mean, there's a chance that something could happen to…" he drifted off, remembering that Rue was with us.

"You're right," Rue still knew what he was about to say. "But then it would just be the three of us left," she pointed out. "What would happen then?"

I looked at her sadly. Did she honestly think one of us would kill her? By the way she watched me; I knew I still had her trust. So, that left Peeta. Maybe she believed he would off her to save me or something. Again, I sighed. Never had I been this frustrated.

"Why don't we all just get some sleep?" Peeta suggested after a few minutes worth of awkward silence went by. "I'll take the first watch," he offered.

Not knowing what else to do at this point, I reluctantly agreed and got into the sleeping bag with Rue, dreading the moments that were to come.

…

Opening my eyes, I was surprised for two reasons. One: I had actually managed to fall asleep, and two: it was daylight now.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I ventured outside to find Peeta sitting against the outer-cave wall.

He just shrugged, "You needed the rest more than I did," he admitted. And as much as I didn't like the selfless gesture, what he said was true. I hadn't slept in nearly the three days since I had been forced to murder Clove. Her shrieks and taunting had invaded my dreams ever since, turning them into vicious nightmares.

"Are we leaving now?" a tired twelve year old shuffled outside to join us.

I glanced briefly over at Peeta, wondering what he thought of my plan. Shockingly enough, he merely nodded his head, going along with my intentions.

This caught me so off guard that I couldn't help but to think just maybe Peeta had plans of his own.

…

Arriving at the Cornucopia about an hour later, I wasn't surprised when we found Thresh already there, sitting atop of the metal structure. He looked up just as the three of us came into view, somehow knowing we were there without having heard our footsteps and jumped down.

"I take it you all heard the news?" he questioned gruffly, his eyes wandering over to Rue. The gaze in itself was enough to tell me that she would, without a doubt, be heading home today. The way he was transfixed on her was the same way I used to watch Prim. He was prepared to protect her with everything he had, even if it led to his own death.

"We did," Peeta nodded slowly, expecting Thresh to lash out at any given second.

While the two boys stared at one another defensively, Rue held still between me and Thresh, unsure of whose side to take. Either way, the little girl appeared unafraid, which was more than I could say for myself.

"So, what'll it be?" Thresh cut to the chase. "We can either wait here for the Capitol to send something our way, or we can get this over with and be rid of two tributes now." I noticed how he didn't state which two that would be. It gave me a tiny bit of hope that Peeta possibly had just as much of a chance in living as Rue did in his eyes.

"I vote for the second option," I let them know, taking a step forward. This is the way it had to be. If Thresh didn't kill me, nobody else would. And that would leave the remaining three waiting for the Capitol to throw something much more treacherous our way. I knew that if Thresh, Peeta, and Rue were the last standing, Peeta would at least try to take Thresh out in my honor. Conceited as the thought may be, it was still true.

"Katniss-" Peeta tried stopping me. But it was too late. Without giving it a second thought, I lunged at Thresh, not using my bow and arrow as an advantage. This was going to be hand to hand combat; a matter I had absolutely no skill in. And I didn't try to convince myself otherwise as I jumped into what I knew would ultimately be my death. My only regret was Prim. She would surely be watching this on the TV back at home. But there was nothing I could do about that anymore. While my mind was elsewhere, Thresh used the time for his own personal gain and did my head in. The last thing I heard was Peeta and Rue's screams filled with despair…after that, I knew no more.

…

Waking up in an all too sterile room, after however long it had been, confused me more than I could even begin to explain.

Why am I not dead?

I should be dead.

Before I could dwell any further on that, a rather average looking man, despite being from the Capitol, came into the room, and smiled before me.

"Cinna!" I exclaimed, happy to see my stylist again. Honestly, hugging Cinna was one of the last things I'd ever thought I would get to do again.

"Where am I?" I asked after stepping out of his embrace. Then I remembered, "What about Peeta? Is Rue okay?"

"They're both perfectly fine," he assured me.

Just when I thought I couldn't possibly be any more confused, "Then, how-"

"Let me explain," he suggested, taking a seat at the edge of what I presumed to be my hospital bed. It was the only reasonable explanation being that I was currently wearing a matching gown.

After I took a seat beside Cinna, he finally elaborated. "You see, when you attacked Thresh," he took a moment to look at me disapprovingly. I couldn't help but to feel slightly shameful, but I still wouldn't have taken any of what I had done back. "He had originally been holding out his spear, clearly intending to stab one you with the weapon," he went on, "However, when you lunged out at him, Thresh was unprepared and only managed to cut into your arm rather than hit the designated target. After he removed the spear, your tracker came out with it as well."

"I didn't know that was possible," I couldn't help but say before he continued.

"Neither did I," Cinna admitted, "Although, apparently it has occurred once before."

"When?" I was curious.

"Throughout the thirty-first Hunger Games," he replied, "A tribute from District 8 was assumed to be dead because his tracker had stopped working." At my confused expression, he added, "When a tribute dies, their tracker loses its power."

"Oh," I nodded my head. That makes sense, I guess.

"After that happened, the hovercraft zoomed in, prepared to pick of the boy's body," Cinna continued, "However, when they approached the device, the Gamemakers soon realized that it was no longer attached to him."

"So, what did they do?" I wondered.

"They announced him as a rogue tribute," he told me, "Unfortunately for him, even though the action had not been purposely done, as soon as the Gamemakers caught him on camera, they had him killed, believing that it was the only other fair alternative."

"What does that mean in my case?" I wanted to know. I mean, how could I still be alive if they knew the truth?

"Well," Cinna took a deep breath, "It was shortly after your tracker had been removed that Thresh knocked you unconscious." I grimaced at the memory. It really had hurt. "Your heartbeat was practically non-existent at the time, so the Gamemakers had you pulled up with Peeta and Rue once they had won the Games."

I almost didn't dare to ask, "What happened to Thresh?"

"I think you know the answer to that, Katniss."

Regretfully, Cinna was right. I did know the answer, but decided against thinking too far into it for now.

"So, where are they?"

"Getting ready," he supplied simply. "I'm here to prepare you for your next interview."

"Now?" I asked disbelievingly. "Does Peeta know what happened? Why did the Capitol allow three victors? How come they didn't just finish the job themselves after they discovered I was still alive?"

"Yes, no, I'm not sure, and again, I cannot be certain," he answered all of my questions at once. "The important thing is that you are, in fact, alive, and that you will be returning home to your family," Cinna reminded me.

I took a breath; absorbing everything I'd just been told. Then I had to ask, "How is it that Peeta and Rue don't know?"

"Not even the Capitol knew until about an hour ago," he enlightened me. Good, I said to myself, at least I wasn't out for too long.

"Let's get you ready, shall we?" Cinna suggested, breaking my train of thought.

"Sounds good to me," I smiled back at him, genuinely for the first time in two weeks. I was alive, Peeta was alive, and Rue had made it through. This couldn't have ended more perfectly.

…

Approximately forty-five minutes later, I was standing just around the corner of Caesar's chair. Currently, he was interviewing both of the 74th annual Hunger Games victors and neither seemed nearly as enthusiastic as the blue-haired man.

"Do you not feel privileged to be a part of the first duo to win?" Caesar questioned the two, clearly hoping to get more of an emotional response.

"It would have been better to have three victors," Peeta said almost inaudibly. His face was nothing short of depressed as I watched Rue nod sadly in agreement. My heart sank at the sight. Why were they torturing them? I thought; how much longer am I going to have to wait?

"What if I told you," Caesar leaned forward as if he were about to tell the two a secret, "That there are three victors?" he then smiled brightly, a trait he was well known for.

The audience gasped, just as unaware as the guests on his show.

"What are you saying?" Peeta asked. I noted the tiny glimmer of hope within his blue eyes. Even Rue had moved, now sitting on the very edge of her chair.

Instead of replying, Caesar stood up and pointed in my direction. "May I present, Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire!" he shouted, causing the crowd to cheer wildly.

In shock, Haymitch and Effie had to give me a starting push in the right direction.

"Katniss!" Rue was the first to get over the fact that I was still alive, despite the fact that she had practically watched me die. My little ally then ran towards me at full speed and held onto my waist tightly, as if she were afraid I'd leave her again.

At this small act of affection, the Capitol residents watching all cooed like they had never witnessed such a sweet display.

"You're alive!" she informed me.

I actually laughed. "Am I?" I couldn't help it. Rue just beamed at me and held on tighter.

"Katniss?" Peeta had begun making his way over to me now. It wasn't until then that Rue released her hold on me.

"Hey," I greeted casually, as if nothing out of the ordinary had taken place.

"You-" he stared at me in disbelief. Peeta probably believed I was just an illusion or hologram. So, to prove those thoughts wrong, I pulled him closer and hugged him more fiercely than I had ever done before.

Again, the audience went off, but I wasn't paying attention this time. All of my focus was on the boy before me.

"How-?" he went to ask after we slowly separated.

But I put a finger to his lips, successfully silencing him. "Later," I promised. Then, maybe because I was simply caught up in the moment, I kissed Peeta with such intensity that even I was taken by surprise.

And while he may have been also shocked at first, I noticed Peeta returned the kiss with just as much, if not more, passion.

Rue's giggling in the background is what finally caused the two of us to pull apart. Still, we held firmly onto one other's hands, not ready to let go completely.

And it was then, as I took in my surroundings that it hit me. With Caesar smiling widely, Rue happily laughing, the crowd cheering their hearts out, with Cinna, Effie, and Haymitch watching from the sidelines contentedly, and with knowing that I would get to return to Prim and my mother soon, I realized that there was still one thing I needed: Peeta.

…Because I had enough fire of my own without Gale. What I needed was my Peeta. The boy with the bread. I looked back at him one last time, finally certain of what I wanted. And after kissing him once more, I knew that I had him. Always.