Everyone wants a sappy, happy ending, so I'll do my best to give it to you guys. I tend to like darker stories, but I'm making an effort to make this chapter more cutesy. Thanks for all those who are reviewing!

Oh, and I changed what tracker jacker poison does so I can add more to the story.

Disclaimer: Only one or two chapters left after this one!

Emma regained consciousness as dusk was falling. Wincing as her movement to get more comfortable on her branch irritated her arm, Cato called out to her. "Care to get your stupid sponsor's gift yet? That chiming is about to drive me nuts."

Tempted to leave the gift alone to see if the chiming really would drive Cato away, Emma's curiosity got the better of her. Climbing the few branches to where the gift was tangled, she tore the note off of it.

Emma,

You have sponsors; people want you to win. Hang in there.

- Felix

A part of her wanted to laugh. Felix's words reminded her of a poster she had hanging in her room. It was a kitten, dangling off a branch, with the words, "The worst is almost over, hang in there" on it. She was then overcome with a bought of homesickness. Pushing that aside, she looked at the container's contents. Inside was a plate of fresh fruit and a bottle of water. Not quite what I expected, but appreciated nonetheless. "Thank you," whispered Emma, knowing the camera would catch her words.

"Whatcha get?" asked Cato, squinting up at her, attempting to get a look for himself.

"Just some fresh fruit and water," answered Emma. "Hey…I'll trade you some fruit for some jerky…"

Cato considered her offer. "Why?"

Emma sighed. "Because I haven't had meat in a while and I'm really craving it. You don't have to take the deal, I just wanted to throw it out there."

"It's fine, I'll accept. I'll give you half of my jerky for half of your fruit."

"How do I know that you aren't holding out on me? Or giving me poisonous food?" asked Emma suspiciously.

"Hey, you made the deal. But honestly, you aren't planning on living in that tree for the rest of your life, are you? Let's just do the trade, eat our food and duke it out in the morning."

Pondering his suggestion, Emma realized that it was bound to happen, and it might as well happen sooner rather than later. Dividing up the fruit, she sent it down in the container, tied to her rope. When it reached Cato, Emma was prepared for Cato giving her rope a firm tug that would send her crashing to the ground, but he surprised her by honoring their deal and sending up his half of the beef jerky.

Emma eyed the jerky, looking for any clue that would let her know that it had been tampered with. "I spent my entire life training for the Games. I'm not going to bring down an opponent by poisoning their food, geez. Will you just eat it already!" complained Cato.

Taking a small nibble out of the jerky and waiting a minute to see if she would fall over dead, she decided that he really didn't mess with her food and that she was good to indulge. "Thanks, Cato," she called down to him, mouth full of jerky and fruit.

Cato just nodded. "Everything will be different, come morning," he muttered under his breath, settling into his spot under her tree and getting ready for sleep to come.

Emma was awake long before the sun's rays crossed the land. Her arm was a bit stiffened from the wound and from keeping it immobilized all night, but the stitches were holding and she was sure that it hadn't gotten infected. A glance down at Cato's form showed that he was still sleeping and Emma held her breath as she untied herself from her branch and put all her things away.

As she turned to go onto a lower branch, she saw the hive. "Tracker jackers," she breathed. Another glance at the ground revealed that Cato's sleep was getting lighter and more restless. The tracker jackers seemed to move sluggishly in the early morning and did not appear bothered by Emma's presence…for now. Taking a deep breath, Emma took out her knife and started cutting at the branch.

It seemed with every slice of the blade the tracker jackers' buzzing grew louder. Drawing her hood around her head, Emma managed to avoid a sting to her neck, but couldn't avoid the two to her hands. Even though she had just received the stings, the pain was instantaneous. Leaning her weight against the branch, she heard it snap and crash down to the ground below. The howl from Cato told Emma that he was awake and running away from her and towards the nearby river.

Desperately clawing the stingers out of her hands, Emma's body grew weak as the poison coursed through it. Shoving her backpack on her back, she started the climb down to the ground, reciting the facts she knew about tracker jackers to keep focused. "Tracker jacker poison intensifies emotions and feeds off of others' emotions. Negative emotions will cause extreme pain and vivid hallucinations. The wounds swell to full size after a full minute after being stung and –"

Misjudging the distance between her and the next branch, Emma's foot slipped and she was sent crashing down the last couple of feet to land next to the broken hive. The buzzing was even angrier than when she was cutting down the hive and she instinctively ran for the river to avoid them, diving head first into the water and clutching at the shoreline.

The tracker jackers did not follow her into the water, but a splash not that far from her sent her running in the opposite direction of the noise.

"I'll fucking kill you, Emma!" growled Cato, barreling through the water after her.

Running through the water, Emma risked going on shore in order to move faster. Unfortunately for her, she was water logged by both her jacket and her backpack, so she unzipped her jacket and shed both of them in one movement.

Glancing over her shoulder, she was tackled by Cato and was sent tumbling to the ground. Wriggling her way out from under him, she felt a sharp pain. Your fear is negative. Think happy thoughts. Emma tried to remember getting accepted into Oxvard with a full scholarship and her father's face. She felt the pain easing just as Cato landed a blow to her stomach, knocking the wind out from her.

She bent over as the wind left her body, inhaling deeply, happy thoughts fading and anger replacing it. Determination renewed, Emma was able to rush Cato, a move that was unexpected and aim a kick towards Cato's shoulder, effectively weakening the blow he attempted to send her way. She darted to him and gave him a round house kick that snapped his head back and sent him on his butt on the ground.

Emma sent him a smirk as she stood in her defensive stance, waiting for Cato's next move. Something…feels different. Even though she pulled the stingers out from her wounds, the poison was already flowing through her blood. Since Cato was so much bigger than Emma, she assumed that even though he had more stings, the poison took longer to go through his system. This must be when the poison peaks between us. That's why I'm feeling so weird. But…what am I feeling?

Wiping the blood that dripped from his nose with the back of his hand, Cato returned the smirk and took off his shirt, which was soaked and sticking to his body, and threw it to the side never once breaking eye contact with Emma. Emma's eyes widened. Was this some type of distraction tactic? She then realized that her white shirt, which was also soaked from the river was now skin tight and completely see-through. Feeling self conscious, she attempted to throw a few jabs at Cato which he easily deflected.

He threw some lazy punches toward Emma, herding her until she felt a tree trunk against her back. Cato continued to close in on her, grabbing her throat in one hand but not applying much pressure. Their want for each other's blood changed into something else. Emma realized the emotion as soon as Cato's lips descended on hers. Lust.

Releasing her neck so his hands could run to the bottom of her wet shirt and then under it, Emma shivered as his heat hit her cold body. Tangling her fingers into his hair, she yanked him closer as he pressed her deeper into the tree. Reaching lower to cup her butt, Cato lifted her up and tugged her legs to wrap around him so that it was only his body pressed against her holding her upright.

This was not romantic by any means. The line between bloodlust and physical lust may have been blurred, but it was still a fight for dominance. If Emma could see what the citizens of Panem were seeing, she'd be repulsed by the way the two of them were ravaging each other instead of exchanging loving embraces.

She bit Cato's lip, hard enough to draw blood and felt him smirk against her lips. In retaliation, he focused his attention on a spot on Emma's neck, nipping and sucking it hard enough to leave a bruise and yet earning a hiss of pleasure from Emma. Dragging his face back to hers so she could crush their lips together, he responded by grinding against Emma, effectively digging Emma's back into the rough bark of the tree. Her nails clawed into his shoulders and dragged down his bare back, leaving angry trails of red.

Parting for air, their eyes locked, green against blue, before their lips met again, almost hesitantly, with the previous urgency leaving and being replaced with a more tender exchange. It was as if they were just enjoying what little time they had left and the fact that they weren't alone.

A crack of lightning and the boom of thunder which sent a torrent of rain down on the land finally broke the couple's kiss. Looking up, Emma said, "They are changing the environment."

Following her gaze, Cato countered, "Or introducing a new element." Cato's head snapped to his right. "Did you hear that?"

Emma shook her head and found herself pouting when Cato reluctantly pulled away from her. Adjusting her top and picking up the dagger she dropped, she offered, "Maybe it's just the wild –"

At that moment, two large wolf-like creatures hopped out of the brush and growled at the pair. Backing up, Cato yelled, "Emma! Start climbing!"

Scrambling up the tree that they were just previously making out on, Emma bent down to lend a hand to Cato. He swung his sword at the two animals, keeping them at bay before grabbing Emma's hand and hauling himself up to her branch.

"Think they can climb?" asked Emma.

Looking down at the animals circling their tree, Cato shook his head. "I think they would have tried already if they could."

Emma released a gasp. "Oh my God. Cato. Those are former tributes! Look! Their collars have their District numbers. These are the District 6 tributes. I…killed the boy on the first day. They must have mixed the fallen tributes' DNA with that of a wolf or something."

He nodded in understanding. "So the smaller one must be the girl. She was the one who was dumb enough to light a fire the first night."

The girl mutation growled as if she heard and understood what Cato said. She snarled and attempted to run up the tree to the branch where Cato and Emma were sitting, but was unable to get far since her claws couldn't get a grip on the trunk.

Looking over at Emma, Cato asked, "How is your throwing skill?"

Emma snorted. "Pathetic. Here's my knife. You do it."

Cato shook his head. "No, I need you to hit one of the wolves and I'll jump down and kill the other one while it is distracted."

"I understand your plan but I don't know how well I can execute it. I don't think you understand how awful I am with weapons."

"All you need is confidence and faith. And to hold the dagger like this." Cato wrapped Emma's hand around the hilt, guiding it with his own. After their heated moment not minutes ago, Emma found it hard not to feel awkward.

"Um, thanks."

"Ready? Throw it when one of them jumps at the tree."

As if on cue, the boy mutation rushed the tree. Throwing the knife, it flipped in the air and the hilt of the knife smacked the mutation on the nose, earning a snort of annoyance from the wolf, but dealing no damage.

Raising his eyebrow at Emma, he asked, "Really?"

Emma crossed her arms around her chest. "You said all I needed was faith and confidence! And it's raining and it's cold and I don't know what I'm doing!"

Cato rolled his eyes. "Now, we wait, until either they get bored and leave or until we see an opening."

Emma nodded and tucked herself into a fetal position attempting to conserve her body heat and remain distant from Cato. Water trickling from her hair to her neck and then on to her clothes to seep to her skin, Emma peeked a look at Cato. Back against the trunk with one leg dangling off one side of the branch and the other bent so he could rest his elbow on it, he met Emma's gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Need something?" he asked, annoyance in his voice.

Frowning, Emma crawled closer to him. "I'm cold."

At first he gave her a look as if he was going to reject her, but after rolling his eyes and looking away, he let his other leg fall making room for Emma. Positioning herself between his legs, she rested her back against his chest and wrapped his arms snuggly around her so she could settle closer to his body. Glancing down at Emma, he warned, "We are only in a truce now. Once we get rid of this dog situation, we go our separate ways. And if we come across each other again, we fight to the death."

Guessing that only an hour had passed with the two of them being stuck in the tree, not much had happened. The mutations hadn't given up on the pair and Emma was only getting colder. Her teeth had started chattering and she had a feeling that her lips were turning blue. It didn't help that the raining hadn't let up either, and was still falling consistently at a heavy pace.

"Emma, can you please stop that chattering?" snapped Cato, voice rising.

"I'm s-s-sorry." She tried covering her mouth with her hand. "I can't get them to s-s-stop."

Cato sighed and flipped Emma so that she was straddling him on the branch and held her against his bare chest. "Better? I'm even wearing less clothing than you and my teeth aren't chattering."

Emma clung to Cato, trying to get as close to his core as possible to get the most amount of heat from their position.

Shaking his head, Cato had another tactic. "Let's try this."

Placing a hand on her cheek, Cato guided her to his lips, kissing her tenderly. She returned the kiss eagerly, running her hands up and down Cato's chest and abs. He grinned against her lips. "Your hands are cold."

She looked away sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Hey, it worked," whispered Cato, grabbing Emma's chin and guiding her back to face him. She gave him a small smile before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

Tilting her head, it was her turn to ask, "Do you hear something?"

"I don't think so? I still hear those mutts under us."

Separating herself from Cato, Emma climbed a bit higher in the tree. "Another gift!"

Grabbing it, she handed the container to Cato and looked at the note.

Survive any way you guys want, but try to keep it rated PG-13, kay?

-Felix

She felt her face turn red as she blushed, finally remember that she was on camera 24/7 and that everyone in Panem was tuned in. Showing the message to Cato, she gasped in delight. "Soup!"

"Stew," corrected Cato. "And still hot."

"Oh thank god for that."

Portioning out the stew, Emma and Cato ate in silence, both too busy quelling their hunger and warming their insides to speak. When they finished, Cato stole another glance at the mutations. "Still there."

Emma looked longingly at the other portion of the stew. "We need to do something. We can't stay up here forever."

Nodding, Cato pointed at the mutations. "Look, one is gone and the other is laying down. I think it's waiting us out and the other went to go find Thresh."

"Don't you think there are more mutations? I mean, these are two of the fallen tributes, right? And there are currently 21 tributes dead. Wouldn't they all be mutated and running around now?"

Pondering her points, Cato agreed. "You make good arguments, but we don't have a lot of time and we don't know when our next chance will be."

A howl in the distance caused everyone's ears to perk. The boy mutation ran off in the direction of the howl, leaving Cato and Emma to wonder if this was finally their moment. Scooting down to the edge of their branch, Cato attempted to jump down to the next branch before jumping down to the ground. As his foot lay dangling and reaching for the next branch, Emma called out, "Cato watch out!" as she swung from the one branch and kicked the girl mutation in the head and landed squarely on her neck as they both landed on the ground. The snap that she heard as the girl mutation's neck was crushed under the weight of Emma and their momentum allowed Emma to release the breath she was holding. Turning towards Cato, who had landed on the ground beside her, she held her thumbs up. "One down –"

Seeing the boy mutation before Emma, Cato pushed Emma out of the boy mutation's path and took the blow, full impact. He released a grunt of pain as the wolf landed on top of him, claws digging into his chest mercilessly and teeth desperate to close in around Cato's throat. The only thing stopping them was the fact that Cato had both halves of the mutation's mouth in his hands as he struggled to push the beast off him.

"Cato!" cried out Emma, grabbing Cato's fallen sword and running towards her fallen District 2 tribute.

Snarling back at the mutation, Cato grunted and pried the wolf's mouth open and then past what its natural movement was. All Emma heard was a whimper before Cato pulled both halves of the mouth so far apart that the mutation's head split, right up the middle, killing it and spraying blood, spit and guts all over Cato and Emma.

Dropping the sword that she didn't even use, all Emma could say about the scene was, "Ew."

Thankful for the rain now, Emma rinsed the goop off her with the droplets. Cato pushed the dead corpse of the mutation off him, wincing in pain, a movement that Emma didn't miss.

Rushing to his side, Emma looked at the gaping wound in Cato's chest. She stifled a gasp and resisted gagging.

Propping himself on his elbows, he glanced at his chest. "Looks pretty bad, doesn't it?" He tried to smirk at Emma but had to cough, leaving blood on his hands.

"Cato, we need to get you dry so I can stitch you up."

He shook his head. "I'm done for. Go on. Kill Thresh. You've now killed all the Careers. You've proven that you are a real contestant." He coughed again, causing him to wince again. "Win for District 2. Go home to your dad."

Emma's eyes started to water. "C'mon Cato. I didn't kill you. I'm no threat to you. You saved me. And I'm going to save you. So help me help you. I can't carry all your weight."

"Em, we need shelter. We need supplies. We have none of that."

"We have the supplies to stitch you up. And we have food. Shelter we can find…"

A flare went off in the dark, landing a bit above the river showing a small cave. Emma smiled. "Seems like Felix found that for us too."

Acting as a crutch for Cato, the pair hobbled up the rocks to the little cave. Throwing the flare inside, Emma used it as a light to scope out the area. The cave was small; barely able to be called a cave. It was about a body length deep and a body length wide. Extinguishing the flare, Emma helped Cato move out of the rain. "It's small, but it should work."

Plopping onto the ground, Cato scooted to the edge of the cave and leaned against a wall, wincing and short of breath. Emma stuck her head outside and grabbed a few branches to throw in front of the cave's entrance to keep wild animals out and to disguise it a bit from the mutated tributes and from Tresh. Once done with that, she turned her attention to Cato. Opening her mouth, she was cut off.

"Take off your clothes," ordered Cato.

Emma gave him a look of shock. "What?"

Digging in his pack, Cato repeated, "Take off your clothes."

"No!"

Sighing, Cato slowly repeated the sentence a third time. "Take. Off. Your. Clothes."

"No, I need to get you stitched up. You are delusional."

"Emma, you are soaked and your clothes are only making you colder. You'll get sick if you stay in them. I have something for you, you won't be running around naked, just trust me."

Giving a look of disbelief, Emma slowly started undressing. "Are you going to look away?"

Rolling his eyes, Cato muttered, "Nothing I haven't seen before," before he made an obvious motion of looking away. Sticking out his arm, he handed her his jacket. "Here. I kept it in my pack earlier and thanks to our waterproof backpacks, it's dry and warm."

Emma took it and threw it over her bra and panties. "It's huge on me," laughed Emma.

Peeking that Emma was dressed, Cato turned towards Emma, who was struggling to push up the jacket's sleeves without it falling down. Undoing her fishtail braid, and shaking out her waves, she took the two elastic bands and used them to hold the sleeves up in place. She grinned in success at Cato and he couldn't help but return the smile as he knelt in front of her.

Zipping up the jacket for her, Emma cupped his face and smiled. "Thank you, Cato." She kissed his forehead, lips cool against his burning forehead. "Oh god Cato, you have a high fever!"

She laid out the sleeping bag to act as a cushion against the rough ground while Cato stripped down to his boxers to get out of his wet pants. Lying on the sleeping bag, Cato gritted his teeth. "Do it."

Inspecting his wound, Emma gasped. "Cato, he tore through muscle. I'll have to stitch that together and we don't have any aesthesia."

"I'll be fine. Just do it."

Eyes watering, Emma shook her head. "I don't know if I can do it. I've only read how to do it. I'm not trained."

"Emma, look at me." Slowly raising her head, Emma met Cato's gaze. "You didn't know that you could make it this far into the Hunger Games, and you did. You didn't know that you could kill people, and you have. You didn't think that you'd win sponsors and you've gained some. Seems like your track record for not knowing things and then succeeding is pretty damn good so fucking stitch me up so I'm not in so much god damn pain!" Cato panted for breath. "Please."

Nodding, Emma got the supplies she needed out of the first aid kit and got started. Throughout the procedure, Cato was mainly quiet and still, minus a twitch or two when Emma hit an especially tender spot or when a grunt of pain escaped him.

"Done," breathed Emma, small smile on her face. Putting away the supplies and using the rain to wash the blood off her hands, she looked at Cato. He was covered in sweat and was looking pale. "Cato…?"

He rolled his head to the side and gave her a sad smile. "Feels…better…already," he grunted out.

Moving to sit next to Cato, she reached for his hand, grasped it and gave it a squeeze. "I have first watch. I'll keep you safe." She brought his hand to her lips and gave it a soft kiss as Cato's eyes closed as he drifted to sleep.

Emma must've drifted off to sleep for a bit as well, for when she opened her eyes again, the sky was slightly lighter, even though the rain hadn't slowed down. Checking on Cato, she noted that he was still hot with fever and sweating profusely and his breathing was labored. His stitching looked good and was holding together, but whimpers of pain and twitches still plagued Cato, even in his sleep.

Brushing some of Cato's hair back, she noticed that even though he shaved his hair very short for Day 1 of the Games, it had already grown to his interview length and even a bit past it, giving him bed head. Inspecting her own locks, she realized that they had grown to only past and under her breasts, probably due to her malnurishment. Thankful that she didn't have to give herself a mid-Hunger Games haircut, she was pulled back to reality by Cato waking and shifting a sitting position.

"How long was I out?" he asked, shifting up and down until he found a comfortable position.

"Maybe half a day. Not as long as I thought you'd be. How do you feel?" asked Emma.

"Hungry. Got any stew left?"

Emma smiled at his answer. "We still have the other half of it. If we cut that in half, we can probably make it last at least another day."

Nodding, Cato agreed. "Yes, let's do that. Not like we can go foraging again soon, not until after I heal up better. Is it still raining?"

"Sadly," answered Emma. "But at least it's a fresh source of water and it's easy to obtain. The river is rising though."

"I think they are changing the environment. Remember that one year when it was just like how our arena started off like and then for the last 3 people they made it a desert? They have the power to do anything. And they are probably trying to make it more interesting. Is Thresh still out there?"

"To the best of my knowledge. I didn't hear a cannon, but that doesn't mean he's not cold and starving and weak." Opening the stew, Emma was pleased that it was still warm. "Gotta love the Capital and their trinkets."

Getting a spoonful for Cato, she alternated between feeding the both of them. "Thanks Emma," said Cato, swallowing his last spoonful. "But whenever it stops raining, we part ways and our truce is over. It's the rules of the Hunger Games."

Emma sighed loudly. "Can we please stop talking about killing each other? Please? Can't we just have these X amount of days to escape from the horrors of the Games and then talk about killing each other when we cross that bridge, please?"

Shrugging, Cato offered, "If you want. I'm just being realistic."

Rolling her eyes, Emma warned, "Cato, I could kill you now, if I really wanted to."

He sent her a cold smirk. "I could kill you too. I can still break your neck just as easily as before."

"Tell me how you got into the academy."

Cato was taken back by Emma's topic change. "What? Why?"

"I don't know. Because we have time to kill before we can really do anything and I want to know how someone gets into the academy."

Humoring her, Cato shrugged again. "Um, well, when I was young, I used to always run around, pretending I was this great hero. I found this stick on the ground and it was long and narrow but sturdy and it had two nubs sticking off near the base of it." Cato sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, used to pretend it was a sword."

Emma gave him a kind smile. "And what did you name it?"

He grinned at her. "The Six-Fingered Sword."

She swatted playfully at him. "No way! You did not name it after the sword in The Princess Bride!"

Cato propped himself on his elbows. "I can't believe you got that reference. That movie is so old, way before our time."

"Are you kidding me? It's only like my favorite movie ever."

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," quoted Cato, doing his impression.

Emma busted out laughing. "Oh, that is a horrible accent that you just attempted."

Cato frowned. "You try it then, hotshot."

Clearing her throat, Emma repeated, "My name is Inigo Montoya. Prepare to die!"

Giving her a couple claps of approval, Cato complimented her. "Not too shabby. I still think mine is better."

Rolling her eyes, Emma countered, "Because you totally aren't biased." She shot him a smile. "So you had this stick."

"The Six-Fingered Sword," corrected Cato.

"Ok, ok, you had this Six-Fingered Sword and you'd run around playing pretend. How did this lead to the academy?"

"Well, every young boy dreams of adventure and being tough and going to the academy, so I was pretty much average in that sense. And when I turned 7, I told my parents I wanted to go into the academy."

"Were they proud?"

"Ha, no. In fact, they wouldn't even consider it. I know it isn't the case for your family, seeing as your mom was a doctor and your dad was a penny pincher, but even though I'm from District 2, my family wasn't very well off." He seemed a bit embarrassed to admit it out loud. "Especially with 4 kids."

"I didn't know that you had siblings."

Cato nodded. "Yep, 3 younger sisters."

Emma smiled. "I bet that was fun to grow up with."

Cato's smile didn't quite meet his eyes. "They used to always play pranks on me. When I was younger I used to think they were annoying and I was jealous that they always got more attention and an easier workload, but they are family. And they eventually grew on me." He grinned at her. "The youngest one, Tayna, she's 9 now. She and I were always close. Must've been something about being the eldest and being the baby that united us. That girl could get me to do anything for her though. When she grows up, all the boys better watch out. One, because hopefully I'll be there to break any guy's legs who ever hurts her. And two, because that girl is too sly for her own good."

A part of Emma softened toward Cato. She had originally asked her question to kill time, but she hadn't expected Cato to really open up to her. Watching Cato shift uncomfortably on the ground, she moved behind him and put his head in her lap. Playing absentmindedly with Cato's hair, she stated, "I always wanted siblings, but it wasn't in the cards for me."

Giving her a ghost of a sympathetic smile, Cato continued with his story. "Since I hit a growth spurt early, I was much taller and bigger than most 7 year olds and so I lied and said I was 10 and got a job picking up the scrap metal from the weapons factory floors. It helped make me faster, I like to think, because you better dodge the embers from the flames and coals as well as get the scraps without being in the way of the blacksmiths. I was also lucky that the weapons factory was hiring and not the armor since that's where my parents worked." Cato smiled, thinking back on his past memory. "I remember getting my first pay check and handing it directly to my parents stating that they needed to put it towards my academy fund."

"And they didn't even know that you were working?"

"Not at all. They were so pissed that I had been missing school to go work that they made me take summer school and they told me that they were putting my check in a fund for college. It wasn't until after summer school that I found out that they decided that I was actually serious about going to the academy and had started working extra shifts and putting aside money for me to go. They did everything in their power to get me to the academy, and for that, I'll always be grateful."

"Was it worth it?"

Cato laughed. "If I win this, then yes. And the academy was good for me. It helped me gain confidence and it gave me a way to relieve stress. Plus with all the tournaments and with my skills, I won tons of money to payback and help out my parents. I don't regret anything. The academy was hard, but it really- " Cato yawned. "-it really helped me through some rough times and made me the man I am today."

"Are you happy with that man?" asked Emma. When she got no reply, she glanced at the boy in her lap. Looking down, she saw that Cato had his eyes closed and his breathing was steady. "You would fall asleep." Shaking her head she examined Cato. His face was blank and didn't hold a frown or had furrowed brows. He looked peaceful. "You know, from this angle and in your current state, you look almost harmless."

Looking out at the entrance and still seeing the heavy rain, Emma turned her attention on herself. Checking her stitches in her arm, she was pleased to see that her wound had healed well. Taking out the stitches, she frowned. "Well that's going to scar…"

Cato snorted in his sleep and turned in her lap. Smiling down at him, Emma allowed herself to close her eyes and catch up on some sleep.

"So it's my turn to ask a question, right?"

"Well I asked last time so go ahead. Attempt to enter my mind," answered Emma, playfully.

"Why did you hate the Careers so much when we were in school?" asked Cato seriously.

"What? I didn't hate you guys. I mean, we weren't friends but I always felt like it was because we weren't in the same group, you know?" Emma shrugged her shoulders. "You guys were the popular kids. I was…a nobody."

Cato shifted on the ground next to Emma, laying on his side and using his elbow as a prop in order to look at Emma. "Em, you were never open to talking to us and you would make an effort to do the exact opposite of us."

Mirroring his position, she responded, "We had different tastes. I was useless with a weapon and was not physically fit at all. And you guys would throw parties but they were really awkward to go to since I was never really invited. You Careers are kind of elitists."

He frowned at her. "I swear I can remember you at some parties back when we were younger, before you starting dating that twat Gideon. Maybe we only became elitists because of what he would tell you."

"Well you guys picked on him all the time, why would he have anything good to say about you guys?" defended Emma, irritation evident.

Cato took a deep breath. "Em, Gideon was a creep. He was so obsessed with his cameras and photography. Do you know what he took pictures of? His portfolio is probably full of disgusting things, that pervert. I caught him peeping at my sisters once, I almost killed him, I was so angry."

Emma's face fell. "I remember that. He came back with a black eye and broken nose and all scraped up. He said that you jumped him for no reason and that you were a loose cannon."

"I would have done much worse to him if my friends didn't pull me off him," snarled Cato. "He also has a restraining order against him. My one friend, Sasna, do you remember her?" Emma shook her head. "Well apparently he used to stalk her to the point where she transferred districts."

Emma shook her head. "I don't believe you. I dated Gideon for a long time and I never saw a dark side. How do you know so much about Gideon anyways? When did you take an interest in an average kid like him? What made him so special?"

Looking Emma in the eye, Cato answered, "He was dating you."

Ok so this wasn't originally where I was going to stop but the next stopping point is a couple thousand words away so I didn't want an epic chapter. Hopefully this was a nice change from the other chapters!

Please review. All opinions are welcomed :]