Hey Everyone! I am so excited by the reception this story has gotten so far. Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, followed and favorited this. You guys are so awesome!

A special thanks to my incredible beta's Court81981 and Pookieh - you guys help me more than you know!

And with that... Enjoy!


Haymitch is standing by the door that leads from the waiting room to the hospital when Katniss approaches. He stares at her incredulously, his arms crossed. She ignores him, tugging her badge out from around her neck and swiping the black panel on the wall so the door in front of her unlocks. She has just pulled it open when he speaks.

"So is this what I pay you for? To fraternize with the clients?"

Katniss purposely rolls her eyes but can't help the slight reddening of her cheeks. "You pay me shit," she retorts without looking at him as she walks through the door. Her boss doesn't follow her, but she can hear him laughing loudly behind her.

"You got me there, Sweetheart," he replies, laughing.

Katniss heads back to surgery, all the while trying to collect her thoughts from her encounter with Peeta. She, of course, was her typical socially awkward self. Recalling her bumbled introduction makes the back of her neck heat up and her stomach contents curdle. Then there was the other stuff. Was she flirting with him? He was attractive, that was for sure, with his messy blond hair, intensely blue eyes and warm smile on what appear to be kissably soft lips.

Katniss! She reprimands herself for letting her thoughts drift there. You are not looking to date anyone. You are about to do surgery on his dog for God's sake. And he probably has a girlfriend, or better yet a wife.

Katniss knows she is right on all three counts, but that doesn't stop her from glancing down at the hand that Peeta held in his briefly. She shakes her head disapprovingly. Head in the game, Everdeen!

Katniss walks into the surgery office, unintentionally interrupting an intimate conversation between Annie and Dr. Odair. Annie looks up and greets Katniss with a warm smile while the staff surgeon regards her with an overly dramatic glower.

"Hey Kat, how's your day so far?" Annie inquires.

"So far so good, but can you tell me why Finnick here is giving me stink eye?" She glances at the uncomfortably good-looking doctor to Annie's right. Annie chuckles and shakes her head, but it is Finnick who responds to her question.

"Well, Kitty Kat, I hear residents are now stealing perfectly good surgeries away from staff surgeons. I have half a mind to go to the owner and let them know they made a grave mistake."

Katniss rolls her eyes and snorts. "I don't think you're his type." Finnick scoffs at her assessment.

The good-looking doctor is somewhat of a celebrity at the hospital; besides being a favorite amongst females—as well as some of the male clientele—a couple of years back he published a series of books about his experiences being a veterinarian. The books and a few television spots on Animal Planet shot him to veterinary fame, much to the hospital's delight, who always promote the doctor every chance they get. Katniss has read the series of three books. She thought he came across as pretentious, and even though she and Finnick are actually very close friends, it doesn't change her opinion that he can be a douche.

Still, she has observed on many occasions, women in low-cut shirts and short skirts with a limping dog and a book by Finnick N. Odair in hand, ready for him to sign during their surgery consult. She wonders sometimes how Annie can stand it. If Katniss wasn't sure that in Finnick's eyes, the sun did not rise till Annie awoke in the morning to coax it along, she might have been tempted to kick his ass.

"Who are you two talking about?" Annie asks in her syrupy sweet tone, breaking up the stare down between the two doctors.

"Dog with a pelvis fracture, came in last night through emergency," Katniss relays, glaring at Finnick.

"Oh Charlie! Peeta's dog?" Annie practically squeals it out, the doctors turn to study the emerald-eyed woman. Katniss can't help but feel a strange sting that Annie knows Peeta by first name coupled with an excitement of hearing that name again. Both feelings confuse her. "He's very good looking, isn't he?" Katniss instantly feels heat creep up her neck onto her cheeks at Annie's question.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Finnick interjects. "I am not even going to entertain the idea that this 'Peeta' person is 'very good looking', but what interests me—" Suddenly he pushes his office chair over towards Katniss, stopping with only a few inches to spare. He tilts his head observing her for a moment. "—is that you agree with Annie, don't you Kat?"

Katniss instantly scowls at the doctor. "Back the fuck up, Odair." But the doctor doesn't budge; instead he smirks while continuing to study the young surgeon in front of him.

"I didn't even know you liked boys, Kitty Kat."

Katniss rolls her eyes at him. "Not when they are assholes like you." She tries to say it with as much contempt as possible, but a smile begins to crack through her grimace as Finnick grabs his chest, feigning heartbreak at her words.

"So if this...'Peeta,'" he says with accompanying air quotes, "is as good looking as my wife says and the blush on your cheeks indicates it as well then why have you not jumped on that like a pogo stick?"

Katniss groans out loud at the doctor's crudeness. "Because, Finnick, I met the guy five fucking minutes ago, and I'm about to cut open his geriatric dog, and..."

"Ahh," Finnick interrupts. "Save the guy's dog, endear yourself to him and then ride him like a roller coaster." Both women just stare at Finnick in disgust.

"Finn, I think you should have written a book of lame sexual innuendoes instead. It would have been a big hit," Katniss counters sarcastically while Annie giggles at her side. "I have no time or interest in dating anyone now, not between working nearly 60 hours a week and trying to convince Abernathy to give me a staff position. I just... it isn't going to work out, no matter how attractive the guy is."

Finnick snorts at her. "Whatever you say, Kat." He shakes his head before sharing a look with his wife, who just shrugs in response.

"Well, if this is all I was called in here for I..."

"Surgery theft is a major issue," Finnick declares matter-of-factly. Katniss looks at him unimpressed and puts her hand in a fist, wagging it in front of her in an obscene gesture, which garners a raised eyebrow from the doctor. Katniss jumps out of her chair.

"I have to go talk to Hawthorne before he leaves. Page me if you need me," she calls behind her as she exits the office. Just as she crosses the threshold, she hears Annie mutter to Finnick, "She totally likes him."

Katniss yells in frustration, eliciting the snickers of her coworkers behind her.


Katniss enters the emergency services part of the hospital. She walks down the long hallway, passing the heavy metal doors that lead to the different levels of ICU's on her left. She heads all the way down to the end, entering the last office on her right.

As she walks in, she has to bite back laughter when she sees Johanna Mason sprawled out in an office chair, her head rolled back, her arms dangling over the sides, her eyes shut and her mouth set in an easy smile. Johanna's foot is raised, her heel propped up against Gale's chest while the doctor stands leaning against his desk, kneading her arch roughly, the tip of his tongue sticking out while he concentrates.

Johanna and Gale are Katniss's best friends, in and out of the hospital, and they also happen to be in love with each other. The problem is that both of them are too stubborn to be the first to admit it. Instead they claim they are not ready to commit, that they both want to play the field, yet the only plays they ever seem to make are on each other. Katniss rolls her eyes when she thinks of all the panicked phone calls the pair direct at her when they think the other one has become interested in someone else. Katniss—who has no patience for their foolishness—usually screams at them to get over themselves and admit they are dating already.

A moan spills from Johanna's lips, snapping Katniss back to the present. She glances up at Gale, who has a proud look on his face, as he rams his thumb deeply into the same spot on her foot, extracting more satisfied noises.

"So what's going on in here?" Katniss asks suggestively. Her voice startles Gale, who drops the foot from his hands.

"Well, I was getting a foot rub from McDreamy here before you interrupted." Johanna keeps nudging her foot up towards Gale, who reluctantly takes it once again.

"Oh God, gross, don't call him that," Katniss responds, her face scrunched up in disgust. Gale smirks before he begins rubbing Johanna again.

"I don't understand why I'm not the one getting a foot massage," Gale whines. "I'm the doctor and you're the tech."

Johanna looks at him like he just told her the sky was green. "Easy, Hawthorne, because I'm smarter than you," Johanna challenges.

"How so?" Gale takes the bait, causing Katniss to shake her head at him.

"Because..." Johanna sits herself up, pulling back her legs so she can sit cross-legged in the chair. "I'm not the one with eighty-thousand in student loans." She finishes by giving him her patented 'you're dumb as fuck' face. Gale glares at her, dejectedly crossing his arms across his chest. Johanna sticks out her foot, tapping Gale on the thigh.

"But don't worry, at least you aren't like Brainless over here" She gestures at Katniss with her thumb. "Getting paid less than me to work bullshit hours." Katniss scowls, which causes a Cheshire cat-like grin to spread across Johanna's face. Katniss rolls her eyes again.

"What are you even doing here, Johanna? Didn't you work the overnight?"

The small woman looks annoyed. "Someone called out again, I said I'd take an extra shift. At least I got to go home and get some sleep, Gale's been here straight through." The actual look of genuine concern on her friend's face as she stares at Gale tugs at Katniss's heart.

"It's alright," Gale says scrubbing his face with both hands. "Once Beetee gets here I'm going home to sleep for days."

"Well before that happens, can we go over the Mellark case?" Katniss interjects. Gale nods, pushing himself off the desk and gesturing for the two women to follow him across the hall.


The three of them stand outside the large cage in ICU. The constant ticking of the IV fluids mingles with Charlie's steady breathing as he sleeps off his heavy dose of pain medication. Katniss watches the chocolate lab's chest rise and fall with each deep breath, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. His dark coat hides most of the bruises and lacerations caused by the accident, and he looks oddly peaceful given his current state. Katniss opens the cage and crouches down in front of the dog. Charlie's nose twitches, but otherwise he doesn't acknowledge her presence.

Katniss begins absentmindedly rubbing Charlie's head affectionately while Gale rattles off the dog's vitals and how his preoperative blood work looks. Katniss listens closely, taking all the information in, when Gale stops speaking she leans in close to Charlie's head.

"I had a nice talk with your dad just a little while ago," she whispers. "He's very worried about you, and from what I could tell he seems like a great guy, so how about I make you a deal? You don't do anything unexpected on that surgery table, and I will do all I can to make sure you get to go home with Peeta soon." She pats him twice then stands back up. She turns to find Johanna and Gale staring at her oddly.

"What?" Katniss asks, looking around self-consciously.

"Oh nothing, Kat." Johanna smirks. "Just listening in on your little pep talk with your patient here." She gestures at the sleeping dog then scratches her temple with a finger. "Is that a new thing you're doing now with all your patients, or is that only for the ones with attractive owners?" She looks so extremely pleased with herself as she grins. Katniss can feel her cheeks sting with embarrassment.

"What the fuck ever Mason," Katniss counters, waving them both off, trying to make a quick exit. As soon as she gets to the door, she remembers why she came. She spins, glancing at Gale who still appears way too amused. Katniss stomps her foot, putting her hands on her waist, puffing air out of her mouth.

"Will you stop it!" she hisses at him. "I need one of your ICU techs to scrub in with me because of Charlie's age and condition."

Gale nods in agreement. "Johanna can go."

Johanna's smirk widens. "Don't worry Katniss, I'll take extra good care of Blondie's dog for you so you can play the hero."

"Oh god," Katniss mumbles under her breath as she turns and storms out the door.


A couple of hours later, Katniss and Dr. Abernathy stand at the large sink in surgery, elbow deep in foamy scrub soap. Katniss looks through the glass into the operating room. Johanna, along with two other surgery technicians, already have Charlie shaved and prepped. The machines that will be monitoring him during the procedure are already attached and making their benign beeps and clicks, indicating the patient is stable. The sound calms Katniss.

Once both doctors are gowned and gloved, they walk to the table Charlie lies on. Condensation from his steady breaths fogs up the breathing tube coming out of his mouth. Before they start, Katniss looks up to find Haymitch regarding her curiously.

"Looking a bit nervous there, Sweetheart." And even though he's right, Katniss can't help wondering how he can tell with her face covered in a surgery mask. Katniss shrugs in response, not wanting to get into her fears of operating on an older dog; she wants to look confident.

"I'm fine," she mumbles.

Once the surgery begins, Katniss feels herself relax. This is what she is good at, not being a compassionate friend or a social butterfly, but this. Katniss is a natural surgeon: her cuts are clean, her knowledge of anatomy incomparable. Her hands are always steady in the operating room, no matter what.

An incessant beeping that Katniss has all but blocked out as she examines the fractured illum of Charlie's hip, starts tugging at the forefront of her brain. She pulls her eyes from the anesthetized dog, looking up to Haymitch, who has been silently observing her work, a proud glint in his eye. He seems to notice the intruding sound a moment later. Katniss quickly looks over at an intensely focused Johanna, who is monitoring the anesthesia and blood pressure machines. When the machine's chirping doesn't cease, Katniss begins to worry.

"What's going on Jo?" Katniss tries to keep the panic out of her voice. It is not uncommon for anesthesia to cause complications during surgery, but as is the case with older dogs, Charlie in particular, routine issues can quickly become life or death.

"BP was dropping, heart rate was dropping. I already lowered the Iso, and when that didn't work, I administered epinephrine; he's stable now, but it's still lower than I would like. You're going to have to wrap this up quickly because I need to wake up this dog soon." The authoritative tone to Johanna's voice captures Katniss's attention. She turns back to her opened patient quickly, inhaling a deep shaky breath.

"It's alright," Haymitch speaks up, his voice is gruff but oddly calming. "He's stable. You just have to place the plate now. You're doing fine." Katniss exhales finally, nods in appreciation and continues. Haymitch spends the rest of the time regaling the room with his past surgery bloopers. The man can tell one hell of a story, and soon everyone besides Katniss is chuckling along to his tales—although she too eventually cracks a smile as she finishes up the last stitches on Charlie's pelvis.

Katniss exhales a shaky breath as she pulls off her gown, mask, cap and gloves. She follows Johanna and Charlie back to ICU. She always monitors her patients as the effects of the anesthesia wears off. A tech could easily do it for her, but she feels a sense of responsibility when it comes to an animal she's personally worked on, and she wants to see them through the whole ordeal. With Charlie, however, Katniss doesn't think she'll be able to breathe right until he is awake.

As Charlie lays sideways in his recovery cage, covered in warm blankets, his vitals return to normal. He begins to lift his head, and he looks around. His unfocused glassy, brown eyes glance in the direction of the anxious surgeon, allowing Katniss to to finally feel some relief.

"Can someone get me his dad's number so I can give him a call?" Katniss asks, continuing to smile warmly at the groggy chocolate lab in front of her.

She hears Johanna pick up the phone behind her, mumbling quietly to whoever is on the other line, then hangs up.

"Rue says Blondie never left, and he's out sleeping in his car. Rue called his cell, but he didn't answer. You want her to go out and get him for you?" She turns to see the devious smirk on Johanna's face.

"No, I'll go out there and talk to him." Katniss gets up, feeling suddenly nervous.

"Oh, of course you will."

"Fuck you, Mason."

All Katniss can hear is Johanna's cat calls as she leaves the room.


"Hey Rue, which car belongs to Charlie Mellark's owner?" Rue looks up from her computer, pulling a Post-It note off her monitor and handing it to Katniss.

"Blue Jeep Wrangler. Here's the licence plate if there are more than one."

"Thanks!" Katniss yells with a wave as she walks out the front door.

There appears to be only one blue Jeep, and it is parked on the side of the building. Katniss crumbles the yellow piece of paper and shoves it into the pocket of her scrub shirt as she approaches the car.

She peers in the driver's side window, which is open about a crack, to see the blond she spoke to earlier lying across the front seats. He faces the dash, a bunched up hoodie acting as a pillow for his head, which rests on the passenger seat. His bent knees rest just under the steering wheel. He looks peaceful, and she almost hates to wake him up when she thinks of how exhausted he looked earlier this morning. After some debate she decides he'd want to know about Charlie's status right away. She taps lightly on the glass.

"Mr. Mellark," she calls in through the open window. "Peeta," she adds sheepishly.

Peeta awakens from his slumber with a jolt. He looks around confused for a moment, bits of his shaggy hair plastered to his forehead. His half-opened eyes finally focus on Katniss, widening significantly when they do. He scrambles to get up, pushing himself into the driver's seat, flinging the door open and jumping out of the car.

Peeta's face drains of color as he looks at her. He points to her shirt.

"Is tha..." The rest of his words die in his throat. Katniss looks down and for the first time notices the rather large, dried blood stains. She is completely mortified.

For whatever reason, the powers that be at Mockingjay decided that each section of the hospital should have color-coordinated scrubs. Emergency got dark blue, the clinic got maroon and surgery was given light blue. This resulted in almost all of the light blue scrubs in the building having ugly brown stains permanently tattooed on the cloth after repeatedly unsuccessful attempts to wash them out. Before Katniss can speak, Peeta finds his voice again.

"Is that...? Is Charlie...dead?" His blue eyes are large saucers of panic. Katniss throws her hands up in front of her trying to halt him from his current train of thought.

"No...no... oh God no, this.." She points to her top. " This is nothing. This isn't even from your dog." Peeta quirks an eyebrow at her as she bumbles her words. "Ahh... Charlie is fine. He just woke up a few minutes ago. The surgery went well." Peeta's face lights up at her words. "He had a little trouble maintaining his blood pressure." Peeta's face falls slightly at the news. "But like I said... he's awake... you should be able to visit him in an hour or so once the anesthesia..." She pauses to watch as his head rolls back and he exhales a loud sigh of relief. "...wears off," she finishes as Peeta slumps back into the driver's seat, his relief deflating him.

"Thank God," he says, releasing a shaky breath through pursed lips. He looks up at Katniss. "Thank you so much." He emphasizes each word with a slight shake of his head and a long blink.

Now that he knows Charlie is alright, she can see just how incredibly tired Peeta is. His eyes almost look bruised, the circles are so dark underneath. His skin is pale. His hair is in disarray and slightly greasy. He looks a mess—but still, an attractive mess, Katniss thinks before silently scolding herself.

"You must be exhausted," she states lamely. Peeta rubs the back of his neck with his hand, peeking up at her through golden eyelashes.

"Yeah," he replies, his voice gravelly.

"Hungry, too, I bet."

"Starving!" he agrees as his eyes flutter shut and he leans against the frame of the car door.

Katniss pulls her cellphone out of her pocket, glancing at the time. She knows she has nothing to do until later in the day. She bites her bottom lip trying to decide if she actually should do what she's thinking of doing.

Fuck it!

Katniss closes the distance between them, finding an unusual amount of courage.

"Slide over," she says to him, causing his eyes to fly open and look at her curiously.

"Huh?" His response causes her to huff out a breath.

"I said slide over. You are in no condition to drive so I'm taking you somewhere to get food in you." Peeta continues to stare at her dumbfounded. "You don't want to be a mess when you finally see Charlie, right?"

A slow lazy smile curves Peeta's lips up, causing something to flutter in Katniss's gut.

"No, I suppose not."

"Well then..." She begins shooing him over with her hands. Peeta finally complies, sliding himself over to the passenger side. Katniss jumps into the driver's seat, feeling around on the side, pulling levers to adjust it to her shorter height.

"So, where are you taking me, Dr. Everdeen?" Peeta inquires playfully.

"Don't worry, I know just the place." Katniss shifts the car into drive.


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