Here you go, K :)

Chapter 4! :D

*Katniss just came back from the feast...and Peeta wakes up to find her unconscious, lying in a pool of blood...*

"Life is eternal, and love is immortal,
and death is only a horizon;
and a horizon is nothing, save the limit of our sight."

When I wake up, the sun is peeking through the cracks in the cave. Wait. Cave? I abruptly sit up, and take in my surroundings. Though its sunny, its pouring outside. Where am I? Why am I not at home, being shaken awake by mother, shouted at for sleeping in, for not doing the chores around the house...

Then it comes back to me. The last couple of weeks, the Careers, Katniss, the Hunger Games, my leg...my leg. Startled, I lift my pants, to see that the bleeding has stopped. The swelling's considerably reduced, and it doesn't hurt anymore. And when my eyes have adjusted to the lighting, thats when I notice her.

Katniss, lying on the floor next to me, head surrounded by a puddle of blood.

Giving a strangled cry, I jump up and head over to her, lifting her head up. There's a deep gash on the side of her face, and the blood hasn't stopped flowing. I can feel the panic filling inside of me, but I try to push it down. It won't do any good to panic now, when I should be helping her. Please, please, let her not be dead.

Fighting back the tears that are threatening to spill over, I rip off the side of my t-shirt and tie it around her head, in an attempt to stop the blood. I keep it there for a few seconds, and then lift her, carrying her over to the sleeping bag, remove her soaking wet boots and socks, and tuck her in.

"No way are you going to die on me, Katniss," I say aloud, fiercely. I grab her wrist, and am relieved to feel a pulse. It's erratic, but still there. I want to try and wake her up, get some food and water in her, but I'm afraid to.

"Haymitch, I'm going to kill you!" I shout, knowing he can hear me. I know he gave her the sleep syrup. "We had a deal!"

He promised. He and I both knew he had to concentrate on the survival of only one of us. And I told him it had to be Katniss, no arguments. He agreed to make sure she survived through this, no matter what happened to me. He knew going to this feast would be risky, and he still gave her a way to go.

Furious, I look around the cave and find an empty syringe lying on the floor. Angrily kicking it, I let out a roar of frustration, cursing Haymitch, and these stupid Games. I know I'm making a racket, but I'm too upset to care.

I know I'm taking out my anger on Haymitch, but I'm actually frustrated at Katniss.

Stupid, stupid girl. Going to that stupid feast, which was obviously a trap, just to save me. And tricking me, giving me that sleep syrup! I'll have to talk about that to her later.

Because there will be a later, I tell myself firmly.

No way in hell am I letting her die for me. I can't live with that.

Taking a few slow breaths, I try to calm down and sit on the floor of the cave, looking at her. She looks so peaceful, save the cut across her face. Still so...beautiful.

"Oh, Katniss," I groan, stroking her hair. "Why did you go?"

I wait for a few minutes, and then risk taking off the cloth, which is now soaked in blood. The bleeding has reduced, but still hasn't stopped completely. Digging through Katniss' backpack, I find a first aid kit, take out a bandage and cover her wound with it. I find a plastic sheet in there, too, and I wedge in between the rocks in the ceiling, like a canopy above her so the rain leaking through the top won't fall on her.

As the day goes by, Katniss doesn't show any signs of waking up, but her breathing's normal, which I take as a good sign. I get really hungry, though, and gobble at least three pieces of groosling before I realize I should probably save some for Katniss, for when she wakes up.

I sit next to her, replacing her bandage every few hours. At the end of the day, I'm relieved to see that the bleeding's stopped. She's going to make it.

The anthem plays and at the end of it, Clove's face flashes across the sky. I'm sure the wound on Katniss' face was Clove's work, but I wonder who killed her. Thresh, maybe? I settle down next to Katniss, keeping watch, silently praying she'll wake up tomorrow.

In the morning, the swelling in my leg is mostly gone, and my leg looks, almost, normal. There isn't much space in the cave, but I try to walk around a bit, and it feels great to use my legs, without it hurting at every step I take. There's a storm outside, and its raining heavily.

Settling down next to Katniss, I stroke her cheek, nothing to do except hope for the best. I feel her stirring under my hand and give a relieved sigh. Smiling, I shake her awake.

"Katniss? Katniss, can you hear me?"

Her eyes flash open, filled with panic. I bend down so that she can see my face, and she sighs in relief. "Peeta."

"Hey," I say, relieved. "Good to see your eyes again."

"How long have I been out?"

"Not sure. I woke up yesterday evening and you were lying next to me in a very scary pool of blood," I shudder. Not something I want to go through again. "I think its stopped finally, but I wouldn't sit up or anything."

And of course, she tries to, but I gently push her back down. Holding a bottle of water to her lips, I let her take a few mouthfuls.

"You're better," she remarks.

"Much better. Whatever you shot into my arm did the trick. By this morning, almost all the swelling in my leg was gone."

I give her something to eat, and then tuck her in the sleeping bag again. "I wonder what brought on this storm? I mean, who's the target?" I ask.

"Cato and Thresh. Foxface will be in her den somewhere, and Clove...she cut me and then..." she trails off.

"I know Clove's dead. I saw it in the sky last night. Did you kill her?"

"No. Thresh broke her skull with a rock."

Ouch. Guess she deserved it, though. "Lucky he didn't catch you, too."

She grimaces. "He did. But he let me go." I raise my eyebrow, and she proceeds to tell me everything that happened. The explosion, Rue's death, what happened at the feast...

"He let you go because he didn't want to owe you anything?" I ask in disbelief.

"Yes. I don't expect you to understand it. You've always had enough. But if you'd lived in the Seam, I wouldn't have to explain," she says.

I feel slightly offended. "And don't try. Obviously I'm too dim to get it."

She ignores me. "Its like the bread. How I never seem to get over owing you for that."

"The bread?" I ask, confused. "Oh, from when we were kids? I think we can let that go. I mean, you just brought me back from the dead."

"But you didn't know me," she argues. "We had never even spoken. Besides, it's the first gift that's always the hardest to pay back. I wouldn't have even been here to do it if you hadn't helped me then. Why did you, anyway?"

I smile. "Why? You know why." She shakes her head. I was in love with you. Still am."Haymitch said it would take a lot of convincing," I sigh.

"Haymitch?" She asks, confused. "What's he got to do with it?"

"Nothing," I mutter, and change the subject. I know we're supposed to be in love, but does she really, truly love me? Or is it just for the Games? I'm not sure. Yeah, we exchanged kisses and stuff, but for her to truly have feelings for me...that would be wonderful.

If not, I'd be content to just love her from aside. Watch her be happy. But I'd fight for her love first, because I'm in too deep now.

Her love is worth dying for.

I'm not that happy with it, I'm not good with all that angsty stuff :P

But what do you think? Press the 'Review' button! I checked, it's blue :D