Authors' Note – This fic is a collaboration between Silverspoon and WelshWitch1011. For the purposes of copyright, we own absolutely nothing and no disrespect is intended with this work of fanfiction.
We have read the books and enjoyed them immensely, but there were one or two things we weren't completely content with, hence this story. This fic will follow the timeline of the Hunger Games movies more closely than the books.
If you dislike a Gale/Katniss pairing then look away now. More Gale for us!
Chapter One
Achilles' Last Stand
In. Out. In. Out.
If it wasn't for the hand Haymitch had planted firmly in the small of Katniss' back, she was certain she would never have remembered to breathe.
As it was, she was already feeling lightheaded, sick and terrified; the antithesis of everything the Mockingjay had come to represent to the people she sought to inspire. It was certainly true that the Games had destroyed some small part of Katniss Everdeen and that, over the previous weeks, she had found herself looking into the mirror above the minuscule sink in her compartment, only to find a shadow of her former self reflected back at her.
But she wasn't done yet.
The Mockingjay had not laid down her weapons and she had yet to bow down before the Capitol, even though they had done everything in their power to break her resolve. There was a spark still flickering promisingly in her belly even as she kept her eyes trained on the screen in front of her; the screen that brought her the view of the old training centre where Peeta was being held, through the eyes of the team that was risking everything to save him.
When she had learned that Gale was among them, the first to volunteer in fact, Katniss had been stricken with the sudden urge to pick up her bow and use it to threaten anyone who dared stand in the way of her attempt to follow. But Katniss was no hovercraft pilot and she was fairly certain that Gale and Peeta would be among the ashes fertilising Snow's roses before she had even made it half way to the Capitol on foot. And so instead she had let out a weak sob that she had immediately hated herself for and allowed Haymitch to lead her to the command centre, where she could watch the deaths of two of the people she loved most play out in high definition. It was a cruel and unusual punishment, and Katniss found herself empathising even more with the parents, siblings and friends who had been forced to bear witness to the brutal deaths of their loved ones during the televised Games. With her eyes squeezed tight closed, she thought of Glimmer, Marvel and Cato, and wondered if this was to be their retribution.
President Coin prowled the control room like a caged tiger, her hands planted on her hips as she kept her gaze trained on the screen. Katniss admired the woman's poise and control, yet she knew the leader of District 13 had far less to lose if the mission were to fail.
Sanctioning a rescue attempt for Peeta had been a bargaining chip; nothing more, nothing less. The mission was designed to ensure Katniss' continued cooperation- to give the rebels a face for their cause that served Coin's agenda far more than it did the unwilling Mockingjay.
And of course Gale was just another soldier. A faceless name to be mourned and quickly forgotten, like the countless men before him who had sacrificed their lives in pursuit of freedom.
Katniss found herself unwillingly transfixed by the black and white images on the screen, despite the overwhelming need she felt to look away and run fast and far from those pictures.
She couldn't watch them die.
Someone else could break the news to her later. Maybe it would be Coin. Perhaps Plutarch. Or would Effie be the one to draw the short straw in bearing witness to the crazy Mockingjay's latest mental breakdown?
No. It would be Primrose. Katniss was certain that her sister was the only one who would know her well enough in her grief – the only one who would be able to comprehend the extent of the feelings Katniss herself had tried to ignore for quite some time.
After all, Prim knew her better than anyone, and she would see that despite the fresh bonds of friendship and respect Katniss had forged with Peeta, nobody could compare to Gale. To lose him would be unthinkable and unnatural. He had been her constant companion; the only person whose company she craved and good opinion she sought.
Gale is mine, and I am his.
It was a simple truth that had needed to remain unspoken, buried beneath the lies inflicted on her by the Capitol. But it was the truth, and Katniss wished more than anything in the world that she had found the courage to tell him. He had deserved that much at least.
"Alright. They're in. It's show time."
Katniss blinked as the sound of Plutarch's voice pulled her from her reverie, and she slid further toward the edge of her seat, her hands desperately gripping the armrests for support.
The camera bobbed unsteadily as Gale ran through the hallways, blasting doors from their hinges and charging up darkened stairwells with a kind of bravery and disregard that made Katniss wonder if he was at all concerned with returning home to her.
She supposed she had hardly given him reason to of late. Her anxiety and apparent yearning for Peeta had eclipsed all else, and Katniss had to admit that she was guilty of treating her best friend no better than the Capitol had treated her for years.
Katniss dug her nails into the soft covers of the armrests and forced herself to keep watching. If she had believed in a God, she would have chosen that moment to offer up a prayer but, as it happened, she did not and she couldn't bring herself to utter anymore lies.
"He'll be okay, sweetheart," Haymitch muttered so quietly that Katniss was not sure at first if she had imagined him speaking at all. However, a slight glance to her left and she found Haymitch staring at her unashamedly. Katniss blinked back the tears that welled in her eyes with renewed determination. She remained silent and her gaze slid back to the screen. She was uncertain as to exactly who Haymitch referred, but she dared not ask.
"They don't know we're there… yet," a voice from behind a computer console declared, succeeding in drawing Coin's sharp eye. Katniss let out a quiet sigh of relief and folded her hands in her lap, willing her legs to cease trembling.
"We have a visual on the holding cells," another operative added as Coin finally ceased pacing the room and came to a halt in front of the screen.
Katniss let out the breath she had not realised she had been holding in a whoosh, raising one hand to cover her mouth as she saw a line of iron doors come into view on the screen above. She watched in perfect silence, heart hammering in her ears, as Gale proceeded down the long, straight corridor, taking the lead as he so often was inclined to. The others followed behind him with their weapons drawn, sweeping every inch of the area in anticipation of the enemy. Everything had been remarkably quiet thus far and Katniss could not shake the feeling that somehow, someway, they would be made to pay for this surprising lack of opposition.
Gale stalked down the hall, pausing before each door only long enough to peer through the rectangular windows set high in the frames. He moved on from several cells in a row as he presumably found them all devoid of an occupant. Finally, he stopped in front of the last door in the hallway, his eyes narrowing as he peered through the peephole. Then, he signaled with a single gesture for the other soldiers to join him and Katniss watched as they swarmed at his back, weapons readied.
Reaching into his pocket, Gale pulled out a palm-sized explosive device that Katniss recognised from Beetee's lab, and wasted no time in affixing it to the door jamb. Haymitch's hand shot out, latching firmly around Katniss' knee, and she realised that her left leg had been bouncing up and down uncontrollably. She continued to tremble beneath his touch, her nerves controlling her body against her will.
"Almost home free, sweetheart," Haymitch reminded her, offering her a half smile that unfortunately betrayed his own unease.
"Something isn't right, Haymitch," she hissed, biting her bottom lip fervently and succeeding in drawing a bead of blood. "I don't know how… why… but something isn't right."
"I'm too old and too sober for this," Haymitch grumbled, rubbing at his jawline with a gnarled palm and returning his attention to the screen.
"We have the hostages in sight."
All eyes in the room focused on the team as they hurriedly affixed explosive devices onto the control panels of two other cells positioned on the opposite side of the corridor. Annie and Johanna were still unaccounted for, and Katniss could only presume that they too had now been located behind the heavy sheets of metal. The soldiers and Gale suddenly raced down the hallway, ducking down behind the corner wall that jutted out and covering their faces with their arms as the devices detonated in perfect synchronicity seconds later. Clouds of thick, white smog unfurled into the atmosphere and the soldiers immediately sprang back into life.
Katniss gulped, watching the smoke in one cell dissipate through Gale's head-cam. Finally, accompanied by the sound of heaving coughs, the image of a pale and frightened Peeta Mellark cowering in a far corner came into view.
"He's alive," murmured Katniss, closing her eyes momentarily as relief washed over her and she felt Haymitch's hand fasten around hers.
Katniss returned her attention to the screen, desperate to see the two men make their escape as the sounds of gunfire and blaring alarm bells caused her heart to suddenly begin pounding frantically against her rib cage.
She watched as Gale reached out to help Peeta to his feet, but the shorter man instead regarded his rescuer's extended hand with a curiously blank stare.
Peeta slowly rose to his feet unaided only to stand motionless, his eyes boring into Gale's in a manner that caught the attention of all those watching from the relative safety of District 13. Hatred, jealousy, spite – all flashed across Peeta's face in rapid succession, and Katniss' heart plummeted.
"Wh-what's he doing?" Katniss stammered, glancing up urgently at Haymitch who appeared equally as confused by his young protégé's behaviour.
"Get the hell out of there, kid," Haymitch urged quietly, his eyes wide as he took in the scene with an increasing sense of dread. Katniss was right; something was most definitely amiss.
Above the frantic yells of his colleagues, Gale could clearly be heard imploring Peeta to get up, to run, and he cast a hurried glance at the doorway as the gunfire drew ever closer.
The camera was now once again on Peeta's face, allowing Katniss to search his sunken eyes for any semblance of an explanation. Slowly, Peeta stared up at Gale and his blue eyed gaze flickered only momentarily to the doorway before his mouth opened, and Katniss' entire world crumbled around her.
"GUARDS!"
Peeta's voice, certain and impossibly loud, rang out through the control room, and Katniss felt the bile rising in the back of her throat.
"No…" she whispered, shaking her head as tears coursed unchecked down both cheeks, splashing onto the front of her drab grey, standard issue tunic. "Peeta… no…"
A second soldier suddenly joined Gale in the cell, and the camera on his headset picked up the indecision flickering clearly across Gale's features as he appeared to debate their next move. As Peeta's shouts only increased in fervour and volume, Gale seemed to make his decision. Pulling back one arm, he punched Peeta square in the jaw, sending the man tumbling back against the wall of the cell. Peeta slumped, hovering between waking and unconsciousness, his eyes rolling as he struggled to focus.
"What do I do?" Gale demanded, his voice coming through the speaker system, the undercurrent of panic he felt evident in his tone. "Command, what do I do?"
"Tell him to get out of there," Katniss choked out, finally tearing her eyes away from the screen and affixing her desperate gaze upon Coin. "They have to go."
"I'm inclined to agree," Coin replied, her tone still smooth and measured, although there was a hint of panic in her eyes buried just below the surface.
"Command, do we retrieve the hostages?" Gale called out, his voice laden with confusion, "shoul-…"
A sudden grunt and a cry of pain filled the control room, and the feed from Gale's camera abruptly cut out without warning. Katniss leaped out of her seat, scrambling towards the nearest computer console with a cry of alarm and the desperate air of a woman possessed.
"Where is he? What happened?" Katniss shrieked, fighting through the restraining arm Haymitch wrapped around her with relative ease. Spurred on by adrenaline and fear, Katniss raced forwards, pressing her palm against the now blank screen as the sounds of weapons discharging continued to feed through the still working microphone.
"Link in to another camera, right now," Coin barked, her control beginning to fray as she realised that the operation had gone south far faster than any of them had strategized for. She would be truly sad to lose Hawthorne, who had shown the makings of a promising soldier. She also highly doubted that her Mockingjay would withstand such a loss, and she knew enough about Katniss Everdeen's character to realise that the fate of the entire rebellion undoubtedly rested on the decisions made within the next few minutes.
The president whirled around, seizing Katniss' shoulders and forcing the distraught younger woman to peer up into her face. She shook the girl gently, commanding her full attention before she spoke in a low and desperate voice.
"Katniss, I need you to hold it together for me," she stated, her tone leaving no room for argument, "I will do everything in my power to get them out of there but I…"
The president was cut off as an unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed throughout the command centre, coming live from the darkened camera feed.
"Ma'am… Hawthore is down. I repeat, Hawthorne is down."
Katniss blinked through the steady stream of tears, and her hands fastened around the tops of Coin's arms with unrestrained force. The president winced but made no move to pull away, locked into the intensity of Katniss' stare.
"Bring him home," Katniss begged, forgoing any remaining traces of self-respect she may have had left in 13. Her voice cracked as she watched Coin's countenance falter and something akin to sympathy flicker across the woman's features, "Please… please bring him home. I can't do this without him."
Haymitch and Plutarch exchanged a pointed look, but it was the former who bravely broke the silence.
Placing his hand gently on Katniss' shoulder, Haymitch held the sobbing girl in his arms, cradling the back of her head in a strangely paternal manner that surprised even himself.
"Sweetheart, I know this is hard, but Peeta…"
Katniss shook her head as she sucked in a deep breath and lifted her teary-eyed gaze to her old mentor's face.
"Gale…" she whispered, her voice shaking with terror as the numerous possibilities of the fate that had befallen the young soldier played out in her mind. Her cheeks paled and something resembling an odd combination of shame and relief crashed across Katniss' features even as she continued to regard Haymitch.
And then suddenly, he finally understood. It was the reason Katniss had never truly been able to convince him or Snow of her love for the young baker, and the reason why her indifference had been so difficult to conquer; her heart had already belonged to another.
Wrapping Katniss in his arms, Haymitch turned to President Coin and hoped that for once his tone conveyed his conviction.
"You heard her- bring the boy home. You make sure Hawthorne's on that hovercraft or you find yourself another Mockingjay."
President Coin considered his demand for only a moment, before she leaned over the command console and pressed the button to interrupt the video feed.
Moments later, the mission to rescue Peeta Mellark and the other tributes was aborted, and the team were delegated one final task - bring home Gale Hawthorne, dead or alive.