The Accident - Part I

Madge walked through the empty, sterile hallways with their white walls and cold air. She never did like hospitals. She chewed the nail of her right index finger, full of nervous energy. How did this happen? Gale was invincible. He survived the district bombing...he survived the rebellion. He was not supposed to be fighting for his life in the hospital.

As she rounded the corner to the ICU entrance it truly sunk in. ICU - Intensive Care Unit. Gale was somewhere past those blue menacing doors. He was in there fighting for his life. If anything happened to him she'd have no reason to go on. She was alive only because of him. Madge's feet came to a screeching stop when, for a moment she saw Gale pacing the small hallway - not laying behind those larger-than-life doors. Her heart stopped beating. "Gale," she whispered. The man, pacing, stopped and looked at her before dismissing her presence and continuing his nervous pacing. Gale, this was what he looked like when she first "met" him. Tall, lanky, handsome, smoky gray eyes, and creased worry lines on the forehead. Madge took a deep breath, this was Rory - not Gale. Eighteen-year old Rory. Tears filled her eyes at the lost time.

"Rory," she said a little louder clearing her throat. He turned to her confused trying to place her. "Hi, I'm Madge Undersee," she finished taking a step closer.

"Mayor Undersee's daughter?" he asked with furrowed brow. Madge nodded. "How are you?" he asked bewildered.

"How's Gale?" she asked ignoring all pleasantries.

"He's still in the ICU. The doctors really haven't told us much." Rory sighed.

"Can I see him?" she asked. She crossed her fingers and hoped he'd allow her in to see Gale.

Rory looked confused as he said, "Family only. I'm sorry. Doctors' and President Paylor's orders."

"Please, Rory. I need to see him. I promise I won't stay long. I just want to see him once. I promise I won't tell anyone how he's doing. I'd never tell the media anything about him," she pleaded unable to hold her tears back. He had no reason to let her in. He didn't even know her as anything more than the Mayor's daughter. He had no idea what Gale meant to her.

"I'm sorry, Madge. It's not my call." Rory studied her distressed face again and asked, "Do you know my brother well?" Madge nodded. "Because of Katniss?"

Madge sighed and shook her head. The look on Rory's face clearly showed girls asked him about Gale all the time. Since the rebellion and his high-profile position, half the girls in the nation were "in love" with Gale. That didn't mean that Gale cared for them or even knew them. "Please, Rory. Please let me see him. Just once. I promise I'll leave after that if you want me to. Just five minutes?"

Rory stared at her hard and asked her straight up, "If Gale was awake and you'd shown up, would he want to see you?"

Would he? That depended on so many things she didn't have time to go into now with Rory. So she simply nodded her head. She could've given him just as many reasons for Gale saying yes to seeing her as him saying no to her. Rory sighed and said, "Okay. Just once and for a couple of minutes. And only cause you're from Twelve. After that you'll have to clear it with Ma, okay?"

Madge wiped her tears and nodded her head. Rory motioned for her to follow. She took a deep breath to prepare herself to see Gale. Five years! She hadn't seen him in five years. The blonde pushed all memories of that day five years ago out of her head. Sure she'd seen him on the television. His high-profile job kept him in the spotlight, but she hadn't been close enough to touch him...to breathe the same air he did. She followed Rory towards the back of the ICU into a private room. Once inside, Madge didn't see his mother or the doctor. She didn't see the tubes sticking out of Gale's body or hear the machines beeping all around him. She didn't register how faint his heartbeats were on the monitor next to his head. Her eyes were only for his face. Where was the strong, vibrant Gale she remembered? The scowl, the smile, the anger, the concern...it was all missing from his handsome face. He looked peaceful as if sleeping on the bed, but her world seemed gloomy without his bright eyes open.

Tears fell out of her eyes as she stood by his feet - wanting to yet afraid to touch him. "Ma, do you remember Madge Undersee? The Mayor's daughter?" Rory said pointing to her. Madge quickly wiped her tears and looked up into the gray eyes that were so familiar yet not the ones her heart yearned.

Hazelle smiled sadly and said, "Yeah I remember her."

Rory said apologetically, "She really wanted to see Gale. I hope it's okay I brought her in..."

"She has every right to see him. Madge saved Gale's life once before," Hazelle said moving closer to Madge. Right, the morphling back in district twelve. After spending the last five years away from Gale, district twelve seemed a whole different lifetime away. She'd not wanted to leave him that night at Katniss' and she didn't want to tonight either. Hazelle kissed Madge's forehead and said, "He's not coping well after the surgery. We'll give you a few minutes alone with Gale. We'll be right outside at the nurse's station if you need us. Doctors don't know how long..." Hazelle let the sentence trail. Madge's eyes widened with fear. She'd heard he was in a serious car accident, but she didn't think it was this bad. Madge took a steadying breath as Hazelle took the doctor, nurse and Rory out the room with her.

Madge barely registered them leaving the room. Her eyes were only for Gale. He looked strong yet fragile. More tears fell out of her eyes as she moved around the bed. She stopped where his hand lay on the bed next to his leg. His long arms spanning the length of his upper torso. He looked older, more mature. Not like the nineteen year old she'd left in district thirteen. Her fingers itched to pick-up his hand and hold it. Did she have any right to touch him? He wasn't hers. They weren't anything. Her eyes finally caught the monitor next to his head. She'd seen her mom hooked to a similar monitor enough times to recognize the line for his heartbeats. Madge gasped at how faint they were. He was hanging on by just a thread. The blonde lost what little control she'd been managing and cried openly. She leaned down next to his ear and whispered, "Don't leave me, Gale. Don't leave me here all alone." She sat in the chair next to the bed and cried harder. Not caring about propriety or anything else, Madge picked up his hand and kissed it. She put his limp hand against her cheek and said, "Remember how you'd hold your hand to my cheek?" She waited, but there was no answer. Gale's limp hand fell back down on the bed. Madge picked it back up, determined to hold it to her face, "Remember how you'd run your fingers across my cheek to behind my ear and then run circles right here?" She moved his fingers into her hair, but they remained still. She brought his fingers to her lips and cried, "Don't leave me, Gale. You're all I have. Please come back. For me. I need you. You said you'd do anything for me. Come back to me. I love you, Gale."

Hazelle picked up her eyes as she heard the monitor beeping. "What's going on?" she asked the nurse frantic. Half wanting to wait for her answer and half wanting to run through the doors back into Gale's room. He couldn't have!

The nurse smiled and said excitedly, "Look. See this line. His heart's beating faster...stronger." It had been five days since they'd wheeled his body into the ICU after surgery. His heartbeats had only grown more faint with each passing moment. He hadn't opened his eyes even once. Hazelle quickly ran back towards Gale's room, but she slowed her steps at the door. She opened the door slowly; her eyes widened at the scene in front of her. Madge Undersee sat in a chair holding Gale's hand, crying and repeating, "Please, Gale. Don't leave me here all alone. I can't live without you." He was in a coma - he had been in a coma since the accident. Could he hear her? Was he coming back to life for her?

She walked into the room and patted the distressed girl's hair, "Madge?" Hazelle asked softly not wanting to scare the girl who'd once again saved her son's life.

Madge looked up and dropped Gale's hand. She quickly wiped her tears and said, "Mrs. Hawthorne, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you come in." For just a moment, Hazelle saw the proper Mayor's daughter she used to see in district twelve.

"You saved him again. Six years ago if you hadn't brought the morphling he wouldn't have made it then. The doctors were losing hope now and you just brought him back to life." Hazelle said crying as she held Madge's hands.

"Me? How did I bring him back to life?" Madge asked stunned.

"Look. Look at this line," Hazelle said pointing to the monitor. "Look at his heart rate climbing. Until now this line was slowly going down. You brought him back, Madge."

Madge smiled and hugged Hazelle excited. His heart was beating stronger and that was all that mattered. Neither woman cared about anything else. Before either could say anything, a nurse walked in and said, "Mrs. Hawthorne? Come quickly. Your daughter-in-law's condition is worsening."

Hazelle looked at Madge urgently and said, "Will you stay with Gale until I come back? I need to go see Katniss."