Four days have passed, and Cato and I have fallen into a comfortable routine. I would wake up, shower (for today's soap and shampoo scent I chose 'CHERRIES'.), and Cato would make breakfast for the both of us. Cato then walks to work. Even District 2 didn't have many cars. I walk with him to town, and then we would separate. Him to his job, which I still haven't found out what he does, and me to look for a job. Since I was staying here, I needed some means of making money, so I looked for places where work was offered to women. I really did not want to be a teacher, which was the most prominent female occupation. Besides, there were no openings at the local school. Then, I would walk back to the cottage and eat lunch with Cato, while talking about trivial things. We still have not brought up the subject of our impending marriage, opting for getting to know each other first. Cato would then leave again for work while I stayed in. I did things around the house such as cleaning, and organizing because like all men, Cato was not the tidiest. I also wrote in the tattered journal that I brought from home. Other than that, I did not have much to do. It was too cold for me to work in the garden for long periods of time, but after dinner I always disappeared from the house for a few hours, and walked to the forest for climbing. Climbing trees reminded me of home, in a sort of cliché way. Obviously, any type of tall tree would remind me of home, and I just wished there was some sort of lumber job offered to women in District 2. There wasn't even one offered to men.

I hated the way the Capitol designated the districts' professions. I mean, who wants to wait a whole week to get a shipment of lumber from District 7 just to have enough firewood for the district? You could just cut down a couple of trees from this forest, and be good for a few years.

Anyways, after I sat in a tree watching the sunset, I would go back to the house before it got too dark and chilly. Cato and I would talk for a little longer, and then we would go to bed. After a day of doing this exact routine, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a violent yell. Stumbling out of bed, I completely disregarded putting on a dressing gown, and ran out into the hallway in only a large shirt and shorts. Another roar pierced the air from the left, and I realized that the ferocious screaming was coming from Cato's room. I immediately assumed the worst, so I sprinted down the hall to his room and slammed the door open. I don't really know what I was expecting. Maybe a two-ton bear had gotten into the house, and just decided to saunter into Cato's room and then attack him. What I found was Cato. He was yelling and twisting around in his bed, clearly having a vicious night terror.

"Clove! No!" he suddenly screamed out. I rushed to his bedside, and put a shaky hand on his twitching shoulder.

"Cato, wake up," I tried to gently wake him, but he just turned away with another scream of 'Clove!' "Cato! Wake up, your having a nightmare!" I yelled a little too loudly. Cato jerked awake, sitting straight up with a wild look in his eyes.

"Where's Clove? I'll kill you!" he shouted in a deranged voice. He lunged at me, but I surprised myself by dodging his hands and placing my own on his shoulders.

"Cato! I'm not going to hurt you. Relax, Cato, relax," I soothed, and the feral look on his face slowly went away.

"Blythe?" he said in a confused voice.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"What happened?" I really did not want to tell him that he threatened to kill me, but I didn't want to lie to him either.

"Well, you were screaming. I ran in here to see what was wrong, and saw that you were having a nightmare. I tried waking you up, and you did. Then, well…" I trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"Oh, no," he mumbled. He let his blonde head fall into his large hands, rubbing at his temples. "What did I say?"

"N-nothing really. Just…" I trailed off again, impulsively afraid of his reaction if I told him.

"No!" he yelled fiercely. I cringed back, clutching my hands together nervously. "What did I say to you, Blythe?" he repeated, with a more soft tone.

"You were yelling about someone named Clove, and you said that you would… that you would kill me," I told him quickly.

"Damn," he muttered. "Blythe, I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry that you had to see me like that," he apologized. My eyes widened at the sentiment. Just four years ago, this man killed the closest relation to me that wasn't my family. I could never imagine in a million years that he would apologize for threatening someone while in a delusion.

"Cato, it's fine. You didn't mean it because you were dreaming," I soothed. Hesitantly, I placed a hand on his shoulder in means of comfort. His head shot up to look at my face.

"You're not scared?" he asked in disbelief. "All of the others left so quickly," he muttered again.

"Yeah, well, I'm not like the others. They matched us up for a reason," I say defiantly. He doesn't respond. Instead, he puts his face back in his hands, and we sit in silence. I sit down on the edge of his bed slowly, not sure if he still wants me to be there. "Who's Clove?" I ask in a small voice. He looks at me through his fingers before lifting his head up to stare at me in confusion.

"Didn't you watch the Games?" it goes deathly quiet after he speaks. Recollections of being forced into the town square swarm my thoughts when he said that. I try to remember all of the things about the Games that were so unceremoniously dropped from my conscience. Clove. Clove who? Could he mean… Yes. Cato was talking about Clove Winters, the cold and heartless murderess from his Games. Clove was Cato's district partner, killed by one of the more ruthless tributes.

"Yes," I tell him. Another silence surrounds us until he speaks again.

"I remember you," he whispers almost undetectably.

"What?"

"I remember you from the Victory Tour. When I first saw you on my porch, I was so shocked. You still have the same dark red hair. On the Tour when I saw you, you were crying so much," he whispers. My thoughts flashback to when Cato came to speak to our district. He was a great deal more arrogant than he is now, and I remember his boasting about winning. I nod to let him know that I want him to continue. "A few years later, during the Revolution, I saw you again," he says. I have another flashback to being in District 1 for the first time. Raids were happening so frequently in District 2, 6, 7, and 9 that we were evacuated to District 1. "I saw you the same way: crying," I blush a little. I know that I am a very gross crier. "To think that you were matched up with a monster like me, is so surreal," he says in a slightly angry voice.

"Cato," I say sternly. "You are not a monster,"

"Yes, I am!" he sits up straighter so that he looks down at me. "You know what I've done! You know how I killed them! They didn't deserve it!" my mind flashes to Lutz. "I am a monster, and all of Panem knows it," he finishes.

"No," I push at his shoulders and stand up. "Can't you see how much you've changed?" I ask exasperatedly. "You are one of the nicest people I know," I reassure. Granted, I don't know very many people, but I still continue. "If you were a monster, you wouldn't talk to me about your nephew the way you do! You wouldn't ask about my district if you were a monster! You wouldn't have fed me, housed me, or kept me warm. You would have left me outside on that porch, and wouldn't have even thought about letting me sleep in your house. You are not a monster, Cato. Don't ever, ever think that," I conclude with a crazy wave of my hand. All of a sudden, Cato jumps up off the bed and crushes me to his chest. I barely have enough time to move my arms to the side so they aren't smashed in between our bodies.

"I don't deserve that," his voice goes back to a whisper. I wrap my arms around waist, and squeeze his middle.

"Yes, you do. Everyone should know how great of a man you are, and how great of a man you always will be,"


The next morning I meet Cato in the kitchen for breakfast. I had woken up in bed, remembering our conversation from last night.

"Good morning," I smile when I see him at the stove. Who knew such a brawny man could be so domestic?

"Morning," he gives me a toothy smile, and I sit down at the table. It's a Saturday, so Cato doesn't have to work. I'm not sure what we are going to do, as there hasn't been a day that we haven't had things to do. "Something from the Capitol came today," he remarks, setting down a plate full of hot cakes in front of me. He gestures to the unopened envelope in the center of the table. I pick it up and turn it over to see both of our names stamped on the front, and the Capitol seal on the back. I crack the seal, and pull out a letter that was machine-written. "What's it say?" Cato's voice is muffled slightly because of his mouthful of hot cake and strawberry. I smile slightly at his voice before reading the letter aloud.

"Addressed to: Cato Hadley and Blythe Roxen.

The Capitol sincerely congratulates you on your partnership," I snort indignantly at that opening statement. "There are a few rules and regulations the Capitol requests that you follow. Firstly, you must be bound by ceremony in a maximum time of one year. The ceremony must take place in the home district of the male counterpart. However, if the female counterpart wishes to have relatives visit before said ceremony, she must fill out a request form, and return it to the Peacekeeper office before the end of the month. After said ceremony is completed, the male and female will have one month in a chosen district for a "honeymoon". Another request form is also required to be filled out for this. After said "honeymoon" is completed, the male and female will have another month to decide if they are going to live in the male's birth district or the female's. Another request form is also required to be filled out for this. Both male and female are required to transport to said district by designated time. Thank you, and congratulations," I finish the letter. I put the letter down, and cut a piece of steaming hot cake before putting it into my mouth. I finally meet Cato's eyes, and see that he is finished eating already.

"What do you think?" he asks uncertainly.

"I think we have a few months to think about it," I tell him honestly. "I do want to have my family meet you before we get married," I admit quietly.

"I want to meet them, too!" he exclaims, standing up. He takes his plate and puts it in the sink, washing it off.

"What are we going to do today?" I change the subject.

"You are going to tell me where you wander off to every evening," he points his fork at me. I sigh and stand as I am finished eating.

"The forest," I admit.

"The what? Please don't tell me you just said forest," he cleans off my plate too and sets them on a rack to dry. I nod in affirmation, and hop up onto the counter, watching him clean. "It's dangerous in there. There are bears, and tigers, and-" I cut him off.

"And trees," I say.

"What do trees have to do with anything?" he asks with a furrowed brow.

"They remind me of home is all," I say, jumping off the counter and heading to the front room. I settle myself down on the sofa, knowing that Cato will follow me.

"So you just stand around the trees?" Cato falls onto the sofa, sitting beside me.

"Of course not, silly," I tease with a slight smile. "I climb the trees," I say. His eyes widen slightly.

"Do you know how big those trees are?" he asks incredulously.

"Yeah, my dad used to call me his 'Bouncy Blythey'. Said I could bounce from tree to tree without even blinking," I tell him. He doesn't speak for awhile, just looks at my branch-scarred hands with interest.

Finally, he says "Can you teach me?"


A/N: Another chapter pumped out! I am so excited for this story! Thanks to CO COSH and EGilly for reviewing. You guys are my heroes. *Wipes a tear from eye* Speaking of heroes, I want to start another fic, this time for the Avengers. I know I don't have many readers right now, but I want your opinion! Give me any suggestions on what you might want me to write about, for any genre or category. I'm always open to ideas for this story, and any stories that I write in the future. I hope you guys enjoyed this, and if you didn't, leave me a review to tell me how to make it better!

- Miss Cap

x

P.S. CO COSH- Sorry, but Katniss and all of the other tributes from The Hunger Games (except Cato) are sadly dead. Hope you're not too disappointed! I like your reviews, so if you have any ideas for this story, share!