This is my first Hunger Games Fic ever, so please be kind. I read all the books in a little less than a week and that was a few months ago, so if I confused or misspelled anything please cut me a little slack.

Fear flooded through her body, he was bleeding copiously from a wound on his chest. His eyes were pleading with her to do the only thing she couldn't do… Save him. She wasn't a healer; she was a destroyer, a killer, and a bringer of death. She couldn't even imagine doing that at the moment… Her lack of healing knowledge kept her from saving him, and she knew that her love for him would keep her from putting him out of his misery. She hadn't even admitted it to him yet, she loved him, she had always loved him, and she had yet to say it to him. She had whispered it in her actions and showed it in the way she moved around him, but she had never said it out loud honestly. This was her last chance to do anything about it. So she sat there next to him, admitting her love to a man on his deathbed. She was lulling him to eternal sleep with the admittance of her love.

She kneeled down near him with tears streaking her cheeks as she smoothed his hair off his sweaty forehead. They both knew that he wasn't going to make it, she could be the world's best medic and he still wouldn't make it. From the moment he was hurt, he wasn't going to make it, and he was at peace with it. He, through his pain, gave her a soft smile that told her that he was okay, and used all of his strength to touch her hand one last time.

His hand was cold and clammy in hers, eliciting more tears from her eyes and a light sob. She held on to his soft, cool hand as if it were a life line, not for him, but for her. She never wanted to let him go, she wanted more time. She needed to tell him things, and wanted so badly to make everything he had done for her worth it. She only had a few moments left with him, and no idea how to make it effective. So she opened her mouth and sang. He had told her before that he loved her singing, and her only wish was that it would be enough to relax him and dull his pain while simultaneously telling him all that she wanted him to know.

The words and melody created themselves as she opened her mouth and sang for him:

"Whenever I fall I get up,
Whenever I cry I stand up,
Whenever I hurt I shape up…
All because of you.
When I was young I fell hard,
Maybe never to stand again.
I cried for my mother and sister,
But it was you that offered a hand.
A bit of bread and a kind heart,
A nod of recognition and care.
I was afraid in the rain,
But then you were there.
I've lived my whole life near you,
You seemed happy without a care.
How was I to know,
That you suffered as much as I.
I never spoke much to you,
Up until recently.
But it feels like I've known you forever,
And a forever I wish I had.
I feel like we've both been cheated,
Out of a life we could have had…"

She paused a moment to blush and moved herself closer to him. She could hardly believe that all of that had come out of her mouth, all of it true and all of it on her mind. She hated to think it, but she truly could have had a better life with him… they could have helped each other, they could have been happy, and maybe they could have actually loved each other. She leaned in as close as physically possible to his face. She saw all of the blood welling up from his chest, and on his hands, face, and ever spots on his lips. She, who usually feared blood and sickness above all things, ignored it as she finished her song.

"We could have had so much together…
Why didn't I see it before?
Because if I had you a bit longer…
I wouldn't be alone anymore."

She cried silently as she lowered her lips completely and kissed him softly. "I love you." she whispered softly as her tears fell from her eyes on to his face.

"I love you too Katniss", He said back in a hoarse, slow, pain filled voice. With his last breath he admitted her love to her, and she closed her eyes wishing that she too could slip away and die… a world of darkness beat a world of pain without Peeta. There was nothing left for her to live for now that he was gone… she had been a survivor her whole life, but what was left when she didn't want to survive anymore… The last time she had felt like this was that day out in the cold rain trying and failing to keep her family from starving. Last time she felt like this she had had the boy with the bread to save her, but now he was gone… gone forever.

She realized though, that there was something seriously wrong… something was missing. His death felt wrong, not because she was grieving for him, but because something was seriously wrong. It felt like it didn't actually happen. When she tried to think about what had just happened to Peeta, her mind came up a blank. She could only remember Peeta lying on the ground bleeding profusely, but she could not remember what had happened to him that caused him to be in that state.

Nothing made sense except for the feeling of hot breath on the back of her neck that made chills run down her spine. She didn't need to open her eyes to see that it wasn't Peeta breathing on her. Her keen sense of survival activated, she opened her eyes and jumped away simultaneously, but it was too late. She could not escape what was all around her, and what were all around her were mutts.

Mutts, the sick and twisted half human, half creature hybrids of the capitol's creation were all around her. Not only were they mutts, but they were mutts with familiar eyes… their eyes were the eyes of all the dead contestants of the games… the one breathing down her neck had two different eyes… one eye of her dear and close friend Rue… and the other of her recently deceased love… the eye of Peeta. Looking at the other mutts she saw eyes of the children she was forced to kill and watch die… and also the eyes of the grown past contestants who had died in while fighting for the cause of the Mocking Jay rebellion. She saw them all, and all of them saw her, with their claws and teeth bared.

She tried to back away, to run away, but there was no escape, no way out. They had her closed in on all sides, and as they circled around her, she panicked. She searched herself for a bow that was not there, no arrows graced her presence either. She knew what was coming… she was a sitting duck, standing there to die like Peeta. She had wanted to die rather than live without him, but staring down a pack of mutts with the eyes of the people you've known staring deep into you is an unnerving feeling. She was scared, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they got bored of playing with their food, and got hungry.

She looked around for something, anything that could be used as a weapon, but she saw nothing that would be any sort of use to her. Her only hope was to make a run for it if there was any break in the pack. She was a fast runner, but she knew she wasn't fast enough to outrun a creature genetically manufactured to hunt down and kill. She saw a small gap in their line and got ready to run, but it was too late. As soon as her foot shifted, one of the creatures leapt towards her. The last thing she saw before it all went black was sharp teeth and mismatched eyes.

Everything was dark, there was something heavy on her, and she heard screaming. Her anxiety rose until she realized that the screaming was her own. The weight on her was not the heaviness of death, but instead, the warm, strong, toned arms of her husband. The arms tightened around her, comforting her, and pulling her closer to his chest. "Hey, hey, hey…" He said softly, just waking up, his voice was deep and raspy, but comforting because it was a sound familiar to her ears.

He pulled her face into his chest as he sat up on their bed, pulling her with him so that they were as close as physically possible. "Nightmare?" he asked, knowing full well that it was just that… He had been woken up more than once by the sound of Katniss's screaming, just as he had woken Katniss up more than once with his screaming. Their love owned the day, but unfortunately the pain and fear of the Games still ruled both of their nights. They both, being survivors of the games, found themselves frequently waking to fear that never ended at the conclusion of the games, and then seeking solace in each other's arms.

She nodded against his chest, trying to get rid of the fear the threatened to consume her. There seemed to be no end to the different nightmares and different ways that her mind could torture her. After her first couple years away from the Games, district thirteen, and the rest of the world outside of her home, her mind had gotten bored of just replaying the events that upset her so, and, instead began to invent new horrors to scare her senseless. The only person that could save her from the nightmares was Peeta, Peeta and his voice that had talked them out of so many problems in their past. All she needed to hear was his warm, familiar voice, and the nightmares went away. All she needed to feel was his strong arms around her, and everything became okay again.

She was still on edge, still waiting for a mutt to jump out from behind every corner and dark shadow, when she heard a wailing. It made her jump at first, only to realize that the wailing was coming from the next room over… the nursery where her screams had woken up their baby girl. Peeta who realized this before she did, went to stand up and check on the child, but found that Katniss's strong grip would not release him. "We must have waked the baby…" He said his voice still heavy with sleepiness, a tone that she found not only calming, but rather attractive.

"It's my fault…" She said as she stood up, still holding on to his arm. She was going to check on the baby, but didn't want to go alone, nor did she want to stay behind while he went to lull their child back to sleep. She hated to admit it, but she was too afraid to go anywhere or stay anywhere alone on dark nights. She was far too jumpy and far too fearful to do so.

Peeta, knowing her so well that he didn't need to ask questions or ask permission, broke free of her grip for a moment and walked to the other side of the bed to retrieve her and bring her to their baby's room. He helped her out of the room, through the doorway, and up to the crib, holding her hand, but then released it to allow her to pick up their small crying bundle.

She felt his hand release hers as she picked up their child, and felt it immediately go to her back. He knew how to make her feel safe and secure, he was there to help her with whatever she needed whenever she needed it, and she knew it…. For that, she was infinitely grateful. As she picked up the baby, its crying lessened and lessened until it stopped crying at all. She cradled the small form in her arms and held it close to her chest. Despite her original reservations, she had ended up being a natural born mother, with the maternal instinct of a domestic goddess.

Even though the baby had stopped crying, she felt the need to make sure that it was in a deep sleep before she and Peeta left the room again. She walked over to the corner of the room with the baby in her arms, and sat in a large wooden rocking chair. The chair had been a gift from Haymitch, and it was amazingly well crafted. Katniss was curious as to where he had gotten it, and as rumor had it, he may have actually made it himself while he was "less" drunk. Where and how he had gotten the chair weren't really points of large importance at the moment. The only truly important thing was that rocking in the chair worked, and the baby began to fall asleep.

As she rocked, she sang softly,

"A mama to hold you,
A daddy to smile,
A family to love you,
For a very long while.
A story to tell you,
When you are old.
A story to tell you,
About mom and dad's toil.
A story of happy.
A story of sad.
The story of how your mom met your dad.
Someday you'll listen.
Someday you'll understand.
But for right now, just smile,
Mommy's little sweetheart…
Right now just smile,
And hold mommy's hand."

As the baby fell back into a deep sleep, Katniss carried it back over to its crib, but she didn't put it in, but looked to Peeta, who took less than a moment to understand. Even though it was late, and even though he was tired, he carried the cradle to the next room over and into the door. He understood her, and he understood her fear. She wanted them all in one room, and he wasn't about to complain… in fact it seemed a good idea to him. As he set the crib down, and she kissed their child goodnight, he joined her and grabbed her hand. He would protect what was precious to him, no matter what, and now, protecting what he loved meant getting his beautiful wife to sleep.

Picking her up in one fluid motion and carrying her to their bed he spoke softly, "Come on my sweet songstress… time for bed."

Please Review and let me know how I did :) I'd like to write more for this couple, so I'm open for ideas.