We sat in silence, as we waited for news about the others, are allies, are friends, are lovers? Beetee's plan kept my mind active. It was so confusing and I barely concentrated as he explained it to me but I know it was good. It would work. It had too! But will everyone come back intact. What would I do without Gale? It would hurt, I would survive.

But Peeta? The memories of those last kissed on the beach, the ones that have hunted my dreams these last terrible months filled my mind. I don't know what I would do without my boy with the bread.

Finnick sat next to me, the hunched position of his body reminded me of the jabberjays in the Quell. I pushed the thoughts of the Quarter Quell out of my mind and turned to Finnick.

"Did you love Annie right away?"

"No," he said and a few moments a small smile crept on his lips, "She crept up on me."

Finnick lowered his legs to the floor and eyes meet mine and he almost chuckled. "Are you thinking about Peeta?"

"N…No," I stuttered.

For a second, he just stared at me, and then he said, "Would've had me fooled."

"What do you mean?"

"During the Quell, when Peeta hit the force field, you looked the way I would have looked if it had been Annie."

He want silent for a minute, "You love him," I was about to interrupt when he put his finger to my lips, "Just listen for a minute, Katniss. I know this all started as an act in the beginning -for you anyway- but Peeta, he's crept up on you, just like Annie did on me. Think for a minute Katniss, think of Peeta and how you feel around him. Then look me in the eye and tell me different."

I did as he said, I thought of him, off my Peeta. He saved my life, so many times. Memories of that hunger I felt when he kissed me in the cave and on the beach. His strong arms wrapped around me at night. The fear I felt of losing Peeta when the Quell was announced. How my heart skipped a beat when I saw him smile. The feeling I felt when I'm around him, which I pushed aside each time.

Is it love? I love Prim, but it's different to what I feel for Peeta, but at the same time equally as strong. It's Real. I raise my eyes back up to see Finnick watching me closely.

A single tear fell down my cheek, "I love Peeta," I whispered to myself, it's so quite I didn't think Finnick caught it but the timid smile on his lips, told me otherwise.

Haymitch suddenly pushed open the door, "They're back. We're wanted at the hospital!" my mouth flew open with floods of questions, but he quickly cut me off, "that's all I know."

I wanted sprint down to the hospital, but I turned to Finnick to see he'd lost all ability to move. "Come and see Annie, Finnick," I whispered to him as I took his hand and lead him through Special Defence, to the lift and finally on to the Hospital floor.

The place was in uproar, with doctors shouting orders and wounded being wheeled through the halls on beds. I started to look around for the flash of blonde that would calm my beating heart, when my eyes landed on a girl, beaten and head shaved. Johanna Mason. Who know all the rebels secretes and this how she was repaid. She sat up, ripped an IV out of her arm, and smirked at me before nodding her head approvingly.

"FINNICK!" Something between a shriek and a cry of joy. A lovely if somewhat bedraggled young women with blinding red hair ran towards us.

"ANNIE!"

And suddenly, it's as if no one in the world but those two, crashing together through space to reach other. They clung together and no one would doubt their love for each other.

I caught a glimpse of Gale, slightly wounded but alive. I walked towards him and extend my arms to embrace him. He pulled back and looked me in the eye, before pointing at a door down the hall, "He's in there. You should be with him when he wakes up." He found something in my eyes and knew that I had chosen Peeta, "You should be with him, Katniss!"

"Gale-" I tried to explain but he cut me off before I could.

"I've known for a while, ever since I saw that ring still on your finger," I look down to see the engagement ring still on my ring finger. I hadn't realised it was still there for a while and when I did I kept in on to keep Peeta close. Now I thought, I did it for other reasons.

"Thank you, for saving him," I said as I quickly hugged him and headed towards the door on the ward.

Peeta. In a moment I could touch him. See him smile. Hear him laugh. Away from snow. Safe. With me. Haymitch grinned like a proud dad as he saw I had finally connected the dots that fighting my fear of love is worth the risk.

"Come on, then," he said, pushing me towards the door. I feel light headed with giddiness. What will happen when I go in there? I will tell I said to myself as I throw open the door to see a confused Peeta surrounded by a trio of doctors poking and prodding at him.

"Where is she? Where's Katniss?" he asked quickly.

"I'm here."

He through his head over one of his shoulder quickly and towards my voice. He slide of the bed to make his way towards me. Blue meet grey and suddenly he was only three feet in front of me yet neither of us moved, just stared in utter disbelief. My hand coved my mouth as I took him in. Beaten and scarred. He was better that Johanna but worse that Annie. I opened my mouth to try and say something but Peeta was always better with words than me and spoke first.

"Katniss, I've missed you so much. Thank god you're alright." He sighed, his hand coming up to stroke my face. My eyes filled with tears and I quickly closed the gap between us pulling his lips towards mine.

I felt that hunger again, the hunger that I realised only Peeta can make me feel. The kiss was warm and loving and filled with hope. Our lips gently but passionately came together in perfect sync and I knew that this was always going to happen. All I needed was my dandelion in the spring, the bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction, the promise that life will always go on no matter how bad our losses are. After what feels like eternity we needed to come for air but we were grinning like idiots at each other and cover in a mixture of each other's tears.

Haymitch told the doctor to get out for a few minutes and headed for the door himself. Peeta smiled at me and pulled me over to the bed. I sat down next to him and he asked something that really I should have expected knowing our past. "Katniss, there aren't any cameras. What's going on?"

I looked down at my lap sadly, ashamed by how I treated him in the past before looking up and staring into his eyes. His bright blue eyes begged for an answer. Now or never, Sweetheart Haymitch's voice told me in my head.

"Peeta…" I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what comes next. "It's real."

"What's real?" he asked

"I love you," I said to him, his jaw dropped like an idiot and I suddenly found the courage to tell him everything. "Peeta, I love you. I love you so much I did everything in my power to get you back to me. I love you in the kind of way that it is so overwhelming and scary I spent the past year and half ignoring what was right in front of me. When I saw you in those interviews…" my voice cracked but I powered through, "I thought I lost you forever, each time you got worse and worse and I was scared I was too late to save you."

The tears rolled freely down my cheeks and I didn't make any attempt to brush them away. He lifted a hand to my face and used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tears from my check. "I've wanted to hear you say that for so long," he whispered pulling me into a tight hug. "…It almost doesn't feel real now."

"Real," I whispered into the crook of his neck.

Peeta pulled back a grabbed my chin lightly, "I love you too." He leaned in closing the space between us and kissed me like before. It was like fire, warm and blazing and grew stronger and more frantic by the minute. I pulled myself on to his lap and my hands into his messy blonde hair. He may have been battered and bruised but he still was my boy with the bread. I heard someone cough behind us. I gently pulled away from Peeta and turned to see my innocent little sister; Prim looked on with confusion and amusement. I felt my face go hot and saw that Peeta had also began to blush as well. I slide of him and into a chair next to the bed but kept a firm hold on his hand. Prim smiled trying desperately to conceal her laughter.

She left a tray of food on the side and turned to leave but just as she reached the door, she turned back around and crushed into Peeta, wrapping her hands tightly around his body. Peeta hesitantly put his arms around her and stared at me eyes filled with confusion. I just stared back in equal confusion and amusement.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Peeta," she whispered into his t-shirt, "we were so worried."

He hugged her back and whispered, "I'm okay Prim."

Prim pulled back, straighten her skirt, smiled at the both of us and whipping away tears on her cheek said, "I told you so." She disappeared back out of the room leaving us staring at the door.

"What just happened?" Peeta asked in amazement,

"You have away with us Everdeen girls," I chuckled back before re-capturing his lips with mine.

The doctors and Prim return soon after and I was sent out of the room despite mine and Peeta's protest to being separated again despite who they are, but Prim promised to stay so I left without much more argument. I left the door slightly open and listened to Peeta's and Prim's conversation.

"Does this mean I have an older brother now?" Prim asked innocently.

"Well, I always wanted a younger sister," Peeta replied and I could picture the smile he gave her. I walked out of the ward to find Haymitch sitting outside, he turned around when I came to sit next to him.

"Hello Sweetheart, thought you'd be in makin' sure bread boy know how much you missed him or is he still in the dark?"

I scowled at him. "He's in with the doctors and Prim, they kicked me out and to come back later. And yes I told him I loved him."

"You following doctors' orders and sharing your feelings. Jeez Sweetheart, hell must be freezing over any day now." I glared at him and he laughed, I think it was his way of saying he was happy for us.

I saw the doctors leave the room and few moment later Prim left, "You can back in now, Katniss. I'll stop by before my shift tomorrow."

Haymitch and I hurried back towards the room and as soon as I walk in the door Peeta smiled at me from the hospital bed, his bright blue eyes still completely his own. I sat down next to him and took his hand while Haymitch came over to the bed and clasped Peeta on the shoulder, "Good to have you back, Kid. How was the Capitol?" he asked as if Peeta had been on holiday.

I froze, not being ready to hear the stories of what happened to him because I wasn't quick enough. Peeta however just went along with it, "Ah, wouldn't recommend it Haymitch. Food's crappy, the company is terrible and the showers not how I remember them." As he spoke something changed in his eyes and looked pained even though his response was light hearted. I stroked his thumb in circles hoping to calm back down.

"Well, now your back you can take over looking after Sweetheart," Haymitch said, nodding towards me.

"Were you worried about me, Kat," Peeta teased trying to lighten the mood.

I didn't answer, just looked at my lap. Peeta tugged my hand, and I brought my eyes to his. We stared at each other for a while and Haymitch just sat back and watched. Soon the conversation started flowing again, I felt my whole body relax.

Later when Haymitch was gone, I was still there with Peeta talking about what was going on with the rebellion and filled in the blanks for him to the best of my ability. As it got later and the nurse told Peeta to rest he asked me, "Stay with Me."

I pecked him on the lips and answered, "Always!"

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games!

This is my first Hunger Games fanfic but I love reading other non-hijacking stories so I thought I would give my own ago.

Your probably wondering why it is all in past tense! Well stick with it, it will all make sense in the end.

Please Review

Heidi x