POV: Dr. Aurelius (Story contains multiple POVs)

Peeta arrived on time, carrying a loaf of bread under his arm. "It's banana nut," he announced. "I thought that it would be the most appropriate for a psychiatrist."

He smiled widely.

I thought about the videos of Peeta being interviewed by Caesar Flickerman. Yes, this was Peeta's pattern. He often made jokes before becoming gravely serious. I wondered what weighty topic he had on his mind for today's session. At least he was baking again. It seemed to make him feel useful and keep his mind distracted. Peeta was living in an apartment building set up for soldiers recovering from wounds, both physical and psychological. I'd heard that he was baking enough for the whole building and then some.

"Thank you Peeta. I will enjoy it with the family tonight. How are you doing?"

"I got a call from Haymitch yesterday," he said." Katniss is not eating, bathing or leaving her house. Have you talked to her?" he asks.

Ah, here's the grave topic. So Haymitch has upset Peeta with information about Katniss that's disturbing. What is Haymitch thinking? We have enough to worry about with Katniss. Peeta decompensating is certainly not what we need right now.

"She doesn't answer the phone when I call, unfortunately," I confide in Peeta.

"Haymitch says he doesn't go over there for fear of making things worse. An older woman that we know is trying to take care of Katniss, but I don't think it's working." Peeta paused, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair. The pause was a long one for someone who usually talks through the whole session.

"I'm worried she might try to kill herself again," he finally said. "Even if she doesn't, I think she might die from not eating enough. That's really just a slow form of suicide," Peeta said softly. "I took the poison capsule away from Katniss at the public execution of Snow, but I couldn't make her stop wanting to die."

"It's possible that Katniss is suicidal," I said. "It's also possible that she's not. Even if she is suicidal, she might not act on those feelings again. I'll call Haymitch this afternoon and discuss the situation. Maybe I can talk to the older woman too. We need to reevaluate what we are doing for Katniss," I offered.

"You know, I watched Katniss almost die when we were kids. That was the first time I saw her life in jeopardy. Did I ever tell you about that?" Peeta asked.

"No."

"After the mine accident that killed Mr. Everdeen, I watched Katniss at school to see if she was okay. She wasn't. She was very sad. Her face was simply expressionless most of the time. The only time she cheered up much was when she was with Prim. Katniss got pale and lost weight. I was 12 years old, and I was old enough to notice that Katniss had started to look more… like a woman…in the year before her father died. She lost all that…you know...when she lost so much weight…" Peeta's face started to turn red.

It was always interesting to see what embarrassed people from different districts. District 12's people seem particularly embarrassed about their sexuality. That's ironic because most people I've treated from District 12 are deeply emotional and able to express feelings about other topics readily. They are often eloquent despite their simplistic way of life. When it comes to talking about their bodies and sexuality though, they have great difficulty.

At times Peeta and Katniss had kissed passionately in front of the entire country, but they never talked about it. I imagined that they didn't talk about it even between themselves. They simply did it. I used to think that people in District 12 just didn't have the vocabulary for discussing sexuality, but Peeta had started to talk about it vaguely. That was good since many of his issues were about Katniss, the girl he'd seemingly always loved. Peeta went on, despite his obvious embarrassment.

"…and she started to look like a little girl again...skinny…straight up and down." He motioned his hands in vertical lines. "Her cheeks started to look a little hollow. One day I saw her clutch a doorway to keep herself steady. She looked like she was going to faint. She leaned up against a wall for support on another day. I'd seen all those signs before. Usually kids who started getting weak like that were dead in a matter of weeks. Kids died of starvation all the time in 12, and it was always sad. Watching Katniss nearly die? It was horrible.

Prim's appearance didn't change much. I suspected that Katniss was giving most of the little food that they had to Prim. I wondered if Katniss had considered what Prim was going to do without her. I wanted to help Katniss, but I didn't know what to do. So I prayed her mother would find work and that Katniss would find a safe way to get food. There was a peacekeeper who paid girls to…do things…to him. I prayed that he wouldn't bother Katniss. Thinking of her being used that way was unbearable. I wanted to protect her, but I was a child myself."

I nodded. Yes, he was a child, I thought. He didn't have much food either. None of them did in 12. Peeta continued.

"Then Katniss missed several days of school. Sometimes mothers in 12 would go to wake up their children and find them dead. I imagined Katniss lying dead, cold and alone on a bed in the Seam. I couldn't get the image out of my mind. When someone died in 12, the family put a wreath of vines on the door of the house. It mostly symbolized eternal love between family members and the intertwining of the community in supporting the people grieving."

"Hmmmm…." I said with a nod. I thought about what a lovely tradition the wreaths are. These people from 12 are very emotionally intelligent. District 13 residents really would do well to intermarry with them as President Coin had wanted.

Peeta sighed sadly, probably mourning his home. Then he continued.

"Anyway, one afternoon I went down to the Seam to see if there was a wreath on the Everdeen's front door, but I didn't know my way around the Seam. I never found the right house. The next day was the day Katniss showed up in our backyard looking through the trash. Having spent days worrying myself sick over Katniss, I knew I had to do something drastic to help her. What Katniss said in that tape you saw is true. I gave her almost two whole loaves of bread. I deliberately burned them, but I don't know if Katniss knows that. My mother hit me for it, but she was always hitting us. It just hurt more than usual.

The next day at school, Katniss looked a little stronger. I saw her afterschool. She picked a dandelion and then she left. She looked almost happy. A few days later, I saw her with a basket full of leaves, stems and flowers. I wondered what she was doing with them. Then I realized that they were food – weeds, but still food. She'd found a safe way to find some food. Soon she was showing up at the bakery to sell my father berries. Eventually, she sold him squirrels. Katniss managed to find a way to survive back then. I don't know if she will now. It sounds like she's giving up. Peeta looked at me expectantly. His foot tapped the ground. "When do you think I can go home?" he asked. "I have to see her."