I held Katniss in my arms under the shade of a low-hanging tree as I listened to her tell me about Prim. Every so often a stray tear would fall down her cheek and break a little piece of my heart. I loved this woman more then anything, and hated seeing her upset. As I wiped the tears from her cheeks, I mulled over in my head what would be best for the situation. I had come to care for Prim as my own sister. Although I have not yet gotten a chance to see the happy and bubbly Prim that Katniss so often refers to, I can tell that my sister-in-law's intense grief is crippling her true personality. The glimpses of the real Prim that shine through in rare moments of happiness have become less and less common.

"Maybe we should consider having her speak to a doctor, love?" I said gently to Katniss. I loved my wife but she was not one to trust outsiders quickly.

"Who would she possibly talk to about this when she won't even talk to me?"

"It could be that she loves you too much to talk about it with you. Maybe she needs an outsider, someone less connected to her, to feel comfortable?" I tried to offer.

"Did you ever talk to someone about Thommy's death? About that night?" I cringed, knowing my answer would not help my case.

"They came to talk to me in the hospital, but I never opened up. I never trusted anyone enough to talk about it until you."

"But you had Damien to talk to," Katniss said. I could see the parallel she was making in her mind and needed to make sure she understood the difference in situations.

"Love, Damien was in no state to talk to me about that night. It was a completely different situation. The Damien you know…well, it took a long time for him to get back to that. Before you came into our lives, he was in worse shape than I was when you found me," I said to her quietly as I pushed a stray hair from the side of her face. "The only thing we can do for Prim is send her to speak with someone who handles this kind of thing professionally, or let her come around on her own time. It's your decision to make and I will support you with whatever decision that is. I will do anything I can for my family sweetheart, you know that." I gave her a lingering kiss on the lips before slowly getting up to sit in front of her.

"The lunch break is over. Do you want me to have one of the guys take over my shift? I can come back with you if you want."

"Of course I want you to. I'm selfish and wish I could keep you all to myself, but those guys need you so I'll just have to keep busy until you get back," she said with a small smile and a loving look. I bent down to give her another kiss and then moved to give Hope a little kiss on the head as well. My little angel was napping peacefully in her carrier, completely oblivious to the serious talk her mother and I had been having. I turned back to look at Katniss with a smile on my face.

"All current worries aside, have I mentioned how inconceivably happy you both make me?"

"You make me just as happy, love. Now go, I don't want anyone accusing the boss of slacking on the job," she said, getting up and giving me one last kiss.

I reluctantly left her side, got back to work and ignored the nagging feeling that said I needed to be with her right now. She was right - I had other responsibilities, but I couldn't help but wish they didn't take me away from those I loved.

Katniss's POV

I walked with Hope back toward the house. It was good to talk to Peeta about my fears, I just wish that we had more options available to help Prim. I stopped by the make-shift barn we had quickly erected to house the animals to see if I could be of use. It wasn't just Peeta who had responsibilities, and I needed to get out of my head and get back to my own tasks.

"What can I help with?" I said looking at Annie.

"Nothing, I'm on my last round of milking, thank god. I'm telling you, Kat, when we ordered these things we did not think it through enough. I have another incredibly large order to place on just farming accessories alone. I have a newfound respect for our forefathers who did all of this sans technology. Milking cows is hard work, I tell you." She stretched her back as she stood up off her stool. "Anyway, how are the guys doing? Have you checked in on Rue and the village women yet?"

"Just came back from the work site. The guys are making a lot of progress, that much I can tell you. As for Rue, this was my first stop. If you're done, we can drop off the last of the milk in storage and head that way together," I said with a smile.

"Sounds good to me. You know, once these people show up I am taking a nice, long vacation," she replied with a smirk. Annie and I had developed a kind of easy friendship that had only gotten stronger since I had become a mother. She has been extremely helpful in answering all of my questions about Hope, my body, and dealing with life as a new mother. I had been really lucky to have her around when my own mother was not only far away but also in no position to answer those questions.

"I'm with you on that one. I can't wait to have some quiet time to myself when this community is up and running. In the meantime, we better haul ass because we have about a million things to do until then. "

The rest of the afternoon rushed by in a flurry of activity. Between hammock making, sheep herding, winter vegetable planting, and baby feedings, I was surprised to look up and see the sun had set and the men were walking in sweaty and tired from their work day. Peeta came over to me and kissed my head, "Come with me?" he whispered in my ear so no one could hear. I gave him a short nod and looked over to see Rue asleep on the couch with Hope. Everyone else was quietly going about unwinding, so we ducked down the hall and headed to our suite. Wordlessly, Peeta moved us into the bathroom and turned on the shower before turning to me with that intense look in his eyes I had come to love. He undressed us slowly, never breaking eye contact with me, before he pushed us directly under the spray of water. The moment our lips met we melted together. Peeta ran his hands along my body, taking his time and savoring our connection. He brought me flush against him before connecting us completely. I had missed this physical link while my body slowly recovered, but the waiting was finally over. He made love to me slowly and reverently until our cries of elation came to a crescendo so strong that tears mixed with the water running down our skin. He wouldn't let me go even once the shower had been shut off and our bodies had been dried. He sat down with me on our bed and took my face between both of his hands.

"This was supposed to weaken. This all-consuming need to be with you was supposed to dull by this point, become manageable at the very least. It hasn't. Katniss, I don't know what to do. When you walk away from me my body hurts from not following you. I love you so much, you're my weakness, my strength… everything. Today was unbearable, being far away from the two of you and not being able to look over and see if you're both okay. I hated it," he whispered as he rested his forehead against mine.

"I know love, I know. I didn't like being away from you either. We'll figure something out alright?" I whispered back, taking his lips in a gentle kiss.

"Is this normal? Annie and Finnick seem fine. Everyone else seems fine after not seeing his or her partner for the day. Is it just us?"

"I don't know, honey, but that doesn't matter to me. We're us and we have gone through different things that other couples have no idea about. I don't care if it's normal, I wouldn't change any of it." He nodded his head against mine before bringing me in for a tight hug.

"What brought this on today, baby? I know we haven't spent much time apart in awhile, but we saw each other at lunch…"

"I don't know. When I watched you walk away from me I had this feeling like, if I wasn't going to go with you I would lose you. I can't explain it. I know you probably think I'm nuts."

"I don't. I've felt that way quite a few times before, too," I whispered to him.

"I'm terrified of things changing. I know we're doing the right thing, building this, inviting those with nothing to take a chance at a new beginning, but… I'm really terrified. Once they're here, I will have nowhere else to hide us long-term. If something happens…we'll be forced to leave our home behind."

"I know baby, I'm scared too. We have so much to lose now, it's not a comfortable feeling."

"I think we should keep the mountain a secret from the new community."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I think as a way of protecting ourselves, no one should know the location of the real house. We'll use another tunnel and build a false entrance that we use as a public one. What do you think?"

"I think that's a smart decision. We have too much to lose to stop taking precautions now." I kissed his cheek before burying my face into the crook of his neck. We held each other like that for a few more minutes before we agreed to get dressed. As reluctant as I was to let go of him, the rest of our lives called to us.

We walked back toward the main room where we knew everyone would be congregating for dinner. I was lost in thought and didn't notice Peeta veer us down another hall towards Prim's room.

"I wanted to check in on her, I hope that's okay." Peeta said to me quietly.

I loved how much he cared about my sister. He clearly loved her, and although they didn't have a close relationship, I knew that once Prim healed that would rapidly change. They were too similar in spirit to not mesh. Peeta knocked on the door lightly before coming into the room. The air had grown cool now that twilight had set in and I moved into the room quickly to close the window I had opened this morning.

"Hey, sunshine. You have a nice, lazy day in bed?" Peeta said, coming over to sit on the edge of the mattress. Prim responded with a slight rising of the corner of her mouth that I knew was intended as a smile. "Well listen, you take as many days as you need. We know when you're ready to get up you will, alright?" Peeta said, moving some of the hair out of her face like he would a small child.

"Prim, is there anything I can get for you? Do you want to come with us to dinner?" I said from the corner of the room.

She didn't even shift to look at me. That hurt. It was hard seeing her like this, the way I had seen my mom for so many mornings. I felt the anger boiling inside of me thinking about Prim ending up like our mother. In some home, not knowing what day it was, not bothering to come out of her comatose world to find out. When Prim didn't respond to my questions I could feel myself losing patience quickly.

"Let's go, Peeta, she's clearly tired and wants time to herself," I said quickly. The truth is, I didn't know what Prim wanted or needed right now. I just knew I needed to leave before I said something to her I would regret.

"How about we bring Hope in to say goodnight when we bring you up a dinner tray, would you like that?" Peeta said, bringing some enthusiasm to his voice.

I was surprised to see Prim make eye contact with him and nod. She swallowed before speaking, "Thanks Peeta, I would like that." Her voice was low and scratchy from lack of use, but just hearing her speak lifted my spirits and made me take a sigh of relief. We left her room and made our way toward dinner, feeling surprisingly better about our situation.

We laughed, we ate, and we talked about nonsense. The worries of yesterday and today were all but forgotten as I was able to look around at how lucky I was to have everyone close to me safe. Peeta brought up the idea for the fake entrance to the main house and Finnick suggested that if they were already going out of their way to make it look like a house why not make it a townhome of sorts. The main house would still be where we all gathered for meals, etc., but this way Finnick and Annie would have a home of their own. With everyone on board with the planned safety precautions we dispersed from the table, everybody calling it an early night. Before going to bed we stopped by Prim's room as promised and had her say goodnight to baby Hope.

She was surprisingly alert and calm as she talked to us and let Hope squeeze her finger with her fist. She even ate some soup, which made me happy. She gave Hope a kiss and even hugged me before saying goodnight. As I walked back to my bedroom with Peeta I felt more optimistic about Prim's situation. Sure she had bad days, but she wasn't turning into my mother. I could see that. She would pull through. That knowledge left a smile on my face and my sleep free from nightmares that night.

The next morning I woke up to see the sun shining high in the sky and couldn't believe how long I had overslept. Peeta wasn't by my side and Hope wasn't in her little bed so I assumed he had gotten up with her and let me sleep in. I stretched lazily on the bed, smiling at how relaxed and well-rested I felt. I found a little note on my side table from Peeta.

You were sleeping so peacefully I couldn't bear to wake you. I took Hope with me to the site for some daddy/daughter bonding time. She's fed and changed so you can take the morning off. I love you, angel.

I smiled at the note and the little gift Peeta gave me. A whole morning to sleep in to myself, I didn't even know what to do. Just then, the door to my room burst open and Rue came in pale-faced and serious.

"Katniss, you need to come right now. It's Prim."

Special Thanks to my Beta, Katnissinme for all of her help. Reviews are always very appreciated!