Sorry about the very long wait. Between school, work, and life, it's tough but I'll get it done and I'll find a way to make it up to you guys. Thanks so much to all of you who are still out there waiting on this.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Simply working with the idea.


Katniss hadn't seen Agent Ghost in weeks. She didn't even know if he was still working there. But, she was glad that he'd acquiesced to her request, at least when it came to Maddy because his disappearance didn't stop her from thinking about him.

She'd been having this reoccurring dream. It started with her standing in a dark room. The next thing she knew, a set of arms wrap around her. When she turns, it's a replay of when Agent Ghost had held her back from attacking him. Katniss does what she can to look at him but she can never get a clear look at him. So instead, she focuses on his arms, trying to fight him away. But suddenly, his grip loosens leaving Katniss confused. And then he laughs, but it wasn't Agent Ghost's laugh but Peeta's. She whips around in his arms coming face to face with Peeta.

Katniss smiles then starts to cry as she throws her arms around his neck and kisses him with everything she has. But when she pulls back, his face is shrouded in shadows. As he leans forward again, the limited light only shows her certain features; like his brown hair, his dark eyes, and his trimmed beard. This wasn't Peeta but Agent Ghost.

Katniss tries pushing him away, but he's too strong for her. So she has no choice when he leans into her and kisses her. She doesn't close her eyes so that she can watch him. The kiss though, isn't unfamiliar and her eyes close almost immediately as she falls deeper into the kiss, into the feeling he resonates of safety, strength, and love.

After that night, she'd woken up in distress. What was happening to her? Why was her mind playing such cruel tricks on her? His nickname was making more sense by the second; Agent Ghost was here to haunt her and Maddy.

But the feeling lingered long after the dream was over and it didn't help that the dream was progressing. Instead of just kissing, the next time they found their way to a bed. The next night, they were naked and it continued until they'd finally had sex. That night she'd woken up drenched in sweat. She couldn't keep going on like this; like she was betraying Peeta.

One side of her wanted to hide, do her best to never see Agent Ghost again. But the other side needed to know why he, of all people, made her feel this way.

"Katniss!" Gale finally shouts as he tries to get her attention.

"Mommy." Maddy cuddles into her.

"I'm sorry." Katniss kisses the side of her head reassuringly.

"Where's your head at, Katniss?" She shakes her head to clear her thoughts when suddenly the lights go out. Gale, Cato, and the other agent in the room snap up to a standing position. "Nobody move! Cato!"

"Agents respond, over." He says into his radio. "Someone, over!" One of them answers. "Go check the breakers, over." They hear another static response. Gale makes sure Katniss and Maddy are away from the windows before he gestures Cato over.

"Mommy?" Maddy whimpers.

"It's okay." She looks over to Cato and Gale. "Guys, couldn't it just be the rain?" There was a nasty storm, buckets of rain, lightning, and thunder.

"She's right." Another voice scares them. Agent Ghost is leaning against the doorway cloaked by the darkness. "Breakers are clean. No one's touched them."

"You checked them?!" Agent Ghost nods making Gale scoff incredulously. Agent Ghost crosses the room to the window they're standing by. He points out to the utility pole which is sparking.

"I'll radio in someone to fix it." Gale stops him.

"I'll do that." Agent Ghost backs off.

"I guess I'll start my shift early." He walks past them all which makes little Maddy squirm in Katniss' grasp.

"Dad-" Katniss manages to cover her mouth before she can finish but Agent Ghost freezes for a moment. He looks over at them for but continues walking. Just as he walks around the corner, Maddy escapes.

"Maddy!"

"Daddy!" She runs after him.

"Damn it." Katniss mumbles before she stands to follow.

"Did she just call him Daddy?" Cato asks.

"Not now!" Katniss doesn't get to leave because Agent Ghost returns with a duffle bag and Maddy in his arms.

"I think it might be a good idea for you and her to stay together." He hands her off but it doesn't come without Maddy whimpering. "Until the lights come back, I think they should stay here." Maybe the lights going out was due to the storm or perhaps it was the opportunity the people after them were waiting for. Either way, no one wanted to take any chances.

"I agree." Cato says. "We'll spend the time waiting here." Gale finally rejoins them.

"They can't send anyone out until the morning." He informs.

"So I guess, everyone is camping out in the living room tonight." Agent Ghost pulls his vest and his gun out of his bag. "I'll be making my rounds. I'll send someone to post out front."

"Why don't you just post?" Cato says making Gale shove him. "What?! He's here already." Cato turns to Agent Ghost. "I'll radio someone else to do rounds."

"Fine. I'll be just outside." Agent Ghost makes a move.

"I want to go with-" Maddy whines.

"Maddy!" Agent Ghost barks before she can finish. "Stay with your mom." She whines some more but only drops her head into the crook of Katniss' neck, remaining quite. Katniss tries to meet his gaze but he's in the dark so she can only see his silhouette.


Hours go by. Maddy is asleep, as are Cato and Gale but Katniss can't sleep. Not with the object of her discomfort so close. Every hour, Agent Ghost would walk past the living room, where they were staying. If he wasn't walking, he was standing right outside and that wasn't helping her sleep.

"You shouldn't be here." He clears his throat. "Go back inside." She's standing in the doorway watching him. He's leaned against the wall, his gaze down to the ground; not that it matters because it's usually too dark in the house to see anything and the blackout only makes it darker.

"I have to pee." She uses.

"So wake up Gale or Cato. Let one of them escort you."

"They're sleeping."

"As should you be."

"So I'm just supposed to pee right here?"

"What do you want me to do? This is my post!"

"Compromise." At this, he turns to look at her. "Escort me to the bathroom." But he doesn't answer. "Okay then. I'll just go by myself." Agent Ghost doesn't let her walk past him.

"Fine." He threads his hand through hers and basically pulls her all the way to the bathroom. Katniss tries to get a good look at him, specifically when the lightning lights up the hallway. But his back remains to her making it difficult.

"There, okay? Go. You have three minutes."

"You're timing me?"

"I thought we were compromising?" She goes into the bathroom but she doesn't need to go. It was all just an excuse to talk to him. Katniss leans against the door. What was with him? Even through the door she couldn't shake him. She needed to find out why.

"That didn't take long." He says.

"Nope." She walks next to him, waiting for him to lead. "So, what's your story?"

"My story?" He scoffs. "Are you really trying to get the low down on me right now?"

"Why not? We're technically living together and I don't know anything about you."

"Look, there's nothing to tell. I don't say much. I don't do anything out of the ordinary. I just do my job."

"And you have a problem with eye contact." He laughs incredulously.

"What is it with you and wanting to look at me?"

"Gale says that's a sign of lying."

"I'm sure he said that. But it's with good reason. You people haven't had the best luck with trusting people."

"So are you another one?"

"No." She laughs now.

"So why won't you look at me?"

"I don't look at anyone."

"You look at Maddy!" She pushes. "Why her?"

"She's a little girl. I thought she was harmless."

Katniss makes a move, cutting him off from walking. She's standing right in front of him when lightning strikes. It seemed her mind was going to play tricks on her, even outside of her dreams because she swears it's Peeta looking down at her. Her hands find their way to cup his face. Agent Ghost's places his hands over hers, pulling them away and trying to drop his head but Katniss fights him. She tries to keep his head up so she can look at him again but he grabs her hands and pushes her up against a wall.

"What are you doing?!" Agent Ghost Asks her.

"Why are you doing this?!" She cries. "Why are you haunting me, Peeta?!" She rips her hands free from his grasp and slams her hands against his chest.

"I'm not Peeta! I don't know why you and your daughter are relentless in this pursuit-" She keeps hitting him only stopping when Agent Ghost holds her hands hostage.

"You think this is easy for me?! Thinking of you?! Dreaming of you?! I only want to love Peeta! Forever! I don't care if he told me to move on if I found someone who made me feel the way he did! I can't!"

"Don't put me in this. I have nothing to do with this!"

"Then why do you haunt me?! Why do you remind me of the man I love?!"

"I can't tell you that...but I'm not your husband."

"No...Peeta would have kissed me already." He drops his head.

"Kat-" She doesn't understand why he never calls her by her name. Maybe it was because she never actually gave him permission. Either way, she didn't know. "I look at you and I wish that I could take the pain away. If only for a second..."

"Then kiss me..."

"Why?"

"Because it will put my mind to rest. Because when you do, I'll know you aren't my Peeta." Agent Ghost places a hand on her cheek and slowly leans into her.

"Will it get you off my back?" He whispers.

"Yes." He leans closer, ghosting his lips over hers. As Katniss watches, it's just like her dream. Agent Ghost is hidden in the shadows. She was suddenly scared that her mind would continue it's trickery and that she would think it was Peeta.

But she's not the only one who seems hesitant. Agent Ghost is shaking badly as his lips press against hers. The kiss is monotonous, nothing like Peeta's. That is, until he stops shaking and presses harder into the kiss. In her surprise, Katniss opens her mouth, giving his tongue access. Her arms encircle his neck as he carries her up so her back is against the wall. Her legs wrap around his waist, pressing them impossibly closer.

Their kissing is frantic now; lips, tongues, and hands are all over the place. Katniss tries to sneak her hand under his shirt but the Kevlar vest makes it impossible. Agent Ghost's arms eventually give out, placing her back down on the ground.

"We should stop..." He whispers huskily to her.

"Did you know him?" She asks.

"Who?"

"Peeta..."

"We might have met in passing."

"Then..." She tries to touch his face but he catches her hand. "How?" It didn't make any sense to Katniss. Her mind was too cruel to her. She could almost bank on the fact that the kiss had just been with her husband.

"Don't question anything." He tells her. "You got what you wanted..."

"Peeta-"

"Don't!" He snaps. "You said, if you got what you wanted, you'd get off my back. I've done what you asked."

"You did. But it didn't ease my thoughts." He scoffs.

"Then I'm sorry." He tries to move away but Katniss places her hands on his chest.

"Did he talk to you? Tell you about me?"

"What? I said, in passing..."

"Then you're my husband incarnate!" She pushes.

"No-"

"Then who are you?!" Agent Ghost pushes himself away from her.

"You should stay away from me." He tells her. "Just like they all say!"

"And what if I refuse?" Katniss asks as she follows him back to the living room.

"It's in your best interest to listen to them."

"I think I can take care of myself!" She throws at him.

"This isn't about just you! You have your daughter! Listen to what your told! If not for your sake, for Maddy's! This isn't a game, Katniss!" Agent Ghost calms down enough. "Please. Stay away from me. For your own good."