A/N Ok thank you soooo much everyone who reviewed, followed and/or favourited my story! Here's the next chapter which is again from the point of view of Katniss & Peeta's daughter. Later I might do something from other people's point of view...I don't know yet. I hope you liked the last chapter and like this one too.

(Slight alterations have been made to this chapter to improve it. So thank you very much.)


2. Memories

My eyes flickered open slowly only to be burned by the light of the room. It caused me to shut them a few times so that they could adjust to the setting slowly. When I looked around I found myself lying in a very white bed in a very white room. It was all a bit surreal. My body appeared to be attached to various machines via different tubes but I had no further desire to see what they were for. I looked at my limp body and realised that I had a lot of bandages on me. I clearly had injuries to my head, legs, back and lots of other places too but they were the main ones. I could feel the numbness of my body and knew immediately that morphing was flowing through it. Then I remembered.

"FINN!"

I scream at the top of my lungs for him.

"FINN!"

I need to know he's ok. I need to.

"FINN!"

But I receive no response from anyone. I yank the tubes from my skin not caring for the repercussions. I felt concern only for his safety. I pull myself from the bed but tumble to the floor with agonising pain jolting through me. It's hard but I'm almost to my feet again.

"Carmen! What are you doing?"

I glance up from my heap on the floor to see the worried expression of my grandmother. I realise that she must be the one tending to my wounds. She rushes over and does her best at getting me back into the bed.

"Carmen sweetie, you need to rest."

Fighting against her hands the best I can, I notice I'm actually shaking with shock from everything. Telling her 'I'm fine,' and 'honestly I can go now' wouldn't work on her when I'm in this state. So I instead just whisper my only reason,

"Finn…"

She gives me a very worried look but I know she can see my desperation. Just as I think I've won her over she simply tucks me in and shakes her head.

"He'll be fine. Rest."

Tears – which believe me I don't usually have – fill my blue eyes at her answer; they're happy that he's well but at the same time sad because I can't see him. She strokes my hair just like she did when I was a child and tells me to close my eyes and to sleep. We both know I will because this is the only thing that will ever sooth me. I hear her leave me and mumble something which is when I know my eyes are shut because I didn't see her do it.

I remember what happened so clearly that it hurts me. I remember the ship, I remember the fear, I remember running and I remember his face when the world burned. His pain. I can see me carrying him and screaming and I can see the world go black. That was truly the worst moment of my life. But I know if I want happy dreams I have to think happily just like my mum always told me. So that's what I did. I thought of all the other days. I thought of the times when we sang and laughed and ran and danced. I thought of his smile just as I fell asleep.


I was seven and you were nine. We were racing through the trees and were laughing the whole time even though it made us more tired but we didn't care! I wore a pure white dress just covering my filthy knees from my several adventures and my hair was put back in a braid straight down my back. I looked just like my mother from behind. Finn was ahead of me leaping over the branches with such ease I envied his grace. He was in faded grey jeans and a simple white shirt much filthier than mine. He turned to check I was still there and when he saw me struggling his grin widened and he made his way back to me. Before I knew it, I was on his back with my arms clinging to his neck as we darted through the trees. We got to the lake and stopped. The moon shone on the lake like a spotlight so it was more like a movie than life. I dropped my bow and backpack motioning for Finn to do the same. He dropped his bag and it landed in the mud so I laughed while he chased me.

"I'll beat you up you know!"

"Got to catch me first Finny!"

"I could Carmen! If I wanted to beat you up, I could…" He never did.

When he finally caught me he just wrapped his big-boy arms around my waist and tackled me to the ground. He let go and we lay on our backs trying to catch our breath again but we continued to laugh just as hard. We stayed like that for ages just talking about everything we could think of from what bread was our favourite…

"I like the one in district four 'cos it's got seaweed in it. That's really nice; you'd like it."

"Seaweed? Yuck! No I like my daddy's bread. That's the bestest in the world!"

to what the rest of the world outside of Panem looked like…

"I bet it's all just long beautiful meadows and vast oceans where you can sing and play all day. I'd like that."

"Me too. But I think it's all like the Capitol, big city lights and big scary business men…"

Suddenly at the climax of our conversation he leapt forwards into the icy water. He didn't surface after a few minutes and I started to panic.

"Finn?"

I looked around for help and then he popped his head up laughing. I glared playfully at him which made him laugh harder so eventually I gave in and laughed too.

"My family's from Four. I wasn't gonna die! Jeez!"

He splashed me until I was drenched myself. It was freezing! I started shivering and so did Finn so he reached his hand towards me so I could pull him out. When I went to his aid, he pulled so I fell in too. This really did make me panic because my mum still hadn't taught me to swim yet so as my head plunged I was sure I'd drown. Just when I thought that was it, I saw Finn grip my waist and haul me upwards until I reached the air. I gulped it down selfishly while he helped me out. We sat down side-by-side on the freshly grown grass.

It was so late; we sat soaked from our earlier adventure and were looking at the stars.

"They're beautiful." I whispered in his ear.

"Not as beautiful as you." I hit him for that. I knew it was a lie.

It was a cold night so we sat huddled in a picnic blanket still covered in crumbs from our sandwiches at lunch time. I tucked myself up in a ball and we sang for hours on end. He was terrible so we both laughed about it, even the birds didn't listen!

"We're going to have to leave! Your mom will shoot me with an arrow if I don't get you home."

"Nah she loves you too much Finn!"

"As much as you do?"

I giggled and he pushed me over laughing too. But then I realised how late it was and just how dark it was. I wasn't afraid of the dark, in fact I liked it but not when I was in the forest and would have to find my way back. The lake was somewhere I came to often with my parents but never this late. Finn noticed how scared I was because he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him. So I just shut my eyes, put my head on his shoulder and knew that he'd keep me safe. Finn and I were always helping each other; it was kind of our thing.

I opened my eyes and looked up into his big green ones. They shone in the moonlight like the stars in the sky so I gave him my biggest smile and he returned it. We didn't need to say anything because there was never an awkward silence between us, just comfortable silence. He looked away first which made me giggle but he just pulled me into him again. We stayed like that for a long time just watching the stars and the trees sway in the breeze.

Just when I expected my dad to come find us a wolf leapt forwards and lunged for Finn. I screamed and then it knocked me to the ground. I screamed again and saw Finn crying with burns all over his skin but he wasn't nine anymore he was sixteen and screaming my name. I cried too and looked into the beast's eyes; they were just like Finn's, as green as summer leaves and the fields grass. I couldn't stop staring as it cried my name too. Then it burst into flames with the whole forest.

I ran through the trees as they burned around me and I screamed more whilst dodging the burning branches. I'm nearly at the end and then my vision is blocked with smoke and ashes and fire. Then I'm engulfed in flames and shouting. I hear Finn and the wolf howling my name and burning too. My legs are turning to ruins and it hurts so much I want to die and then it all goes black like the ash.


I awake with a start and find tears streaming from my face. One of my happiest memories is now burnt and twisted with my most painful and most frightening. Sometimes my mind is just that cruel. I'm sweating now and shaking with fear. It makes me realise I really don't want to be alone right now. Before I even know what I'm doing I find myself on my feet beside the bed. I grab a silky dressing gown from the end of the bed and sling it over my shoulders. I'm careful to be as quiet as I can so use everything I'd ever been taught for hunting. It was made especially hard from my injured leg but at least I was moving even if it wasn't very fast. There weren't many doctors or nurses whom I had to avoid the gaze of which was definitely a good sign! Finn, where the hell are you? I looked at the signs on the wall; one pointing left said 'Emergency Care Unit' so I presumed this one was right. I peeked in each door looking for him but I couldn't see him anywhere until I got to the last room. It was unlike any of the others as it didn't have a bed but more like a desk or a table. This is where he lay.

Clearly lying on a bed was too uncomfortable because the main injuries were actually to his back from what I could see. It was all bandaged up but the bandages were no longer white but a sickly red colour that left me nauseated. I felt tears well up in my eyes just looking at him and seeing how much pain he was in. Even the damage to him in my dream didn't compare to the real him. Somehow his hair had survived with just singed edges but pretty much everything else facing upwards was badly burned. My injuries also did not compare. Would that have been me if he'd not protected me? Would I have even survived because it would have hit me face-on? Finn really did save my life. At first I was frozen, I just watched him with tears streaming my face and then unconsciously I felt my legs move over to him. I itched to touch him and help him but I knew it's only bring him more pain and I couldn't do that to him. Instead I walked around and crouched in front of his beautiful barely-harmed face. It has one deep gash on it from where he hit the pavement but apart from that it's exactly like I remember it. I wonder if his eyes shine just as bright. I bet nothing could take that away, not even a bomb. I reach up and brush the back of my fingers across his pink cheek which is just as soft as ever.

Then his eyes flick open and they meet mine.


A/N Thank you for reading this! It means the world to me but PLEASE REVIEW! I will thank you if you do...so you should...PLEASE! You'll make my day! :D