Ok , this is said in the next chapter but I'll tell you now, too. Gale has posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of his father's death and this is the cause of his violent actions.

"Katniss, he has a knife!" Peeta whispers urgently. "And he's like twice your size!"

"I have a knife, too." Abruptly, Gale lunges at me. I swiftly duck under his arm before he jumps on me. We tumble across the floor like two battling cats and before I know it we're out the door. I quickly break free and lithely roll back into a standing position, leaving Gale one step behind me. As he's about to stand, I force him back to the ground with my foot. He struggles but can't stand. That's when he grabs my ankle and slams me back onto the hard earth. A kick to my ribs makes my anger flare. I force myself up and Gale gets a solid punch to the jaw, knocking his head back. People are watching now; staring in awe as the girl on fire fights the hulking future coal miner. Before he regains his senses, I punch Gale in the gut and he crashes to the ground. He starts to thrash in his effort to stand and I sigh, wondering why he won't stop when he it's clear that I have the upper hand. "Gale, I don't want to hurt you any more than I have to," I warn. He doesn't change his movements so I shake my head and prepare to kick his gut, only hard enough to make him know that he can't win now. As soon as foot meets flesh, Gale stops moving. Everyone around me gasps and I grab his shoulders, pulling him into a sitting position.

Peeta appears with a wooden chair and helps me haul Gale into it. Gale groans and I wave my mother over so she can see if he's injured. She scurries up to him and pulls up his shirt, revealing a red spot that will bruise and be fine after a while. "Katniss, let me check you," my mother says. I hold my hands up and back away.

"No, Mom, I'm fine," I tell her, even though I know I'm not due to the pain coming from my gut.

"Kat, she needs to look," Peeta insists. I glance at him and then begin to run away. I hear him running behind me and I feel myself gasping, trying to take in air. "Katniss, come back!" he yells. It isn't him I'm running from; it's my mother and all those people. All those people who worried over my mother and Prim during the fire and didn't even remember me. All those people who dote on my family but don't spare me more than a glance. I know I can't keep this up much longer but I have to get away.

Before I know it, I've crumpled to the ground and Peeta is leaning over me with Haymitch beside him instantly. Haymitch, the one person who remembered me during the fire. Haymitch, the one person other than Peeta who thought I was a hero for saving my family. "Why did you run?" someone in the crowd asks.

"Because of you people," I say, standing up and pointing at them accusingly. "When the house burned down, you didn't care about me. You didn't look at me until I screamed in pain. Haymitch is the only one who did."

"This girl is a hero!" Haymitch tells them. "She pushed her family out and suffered serious injuries while you didn't even notice her. She fed her family and took care of them while all of you stood by and watched. You. You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"What about you, Haymitch?" someone yells. "Did you help feed her family?"

"He did what her could for us!" I scream. "He gave us what food he could and tried to get her to speak and come out of her own little world." My finger juts in the direction of my mother but all I get in response are murmurs defending her. Peeta puts his arms around me from behind and pulls me into him.

"Can't you people see?" he asks. They all look up, surprised to see someone of good class defending me. "She's gone through so much and you're all just blind to it! Her father died, her family nearly starved, and her house burned down. She just had to fight a guy twice her size to keep people safe from his rage. Katniss could very well have broken ribs!" They're shocked when they see he knows my name and that's when they notice his hold on me. Mouths hang open and people gawk everywhere, eyes fixated on his strong arms wrapped around me. He kisses my cheek and a few people laugh out loud, disbelieving. All noise ceases when they notice my icy glare.

"Thank you for your consideration," I say, turning on my heel and walking in the general direction of the bakery. Peeta and Haymitch follow, both looking frustrated, annoyed and angry. Peeta interlaces our fingers and tugs me toward him. I try not to lean into him but I have to. My stomach is really hurting. I hope I don't have broken ribs like Peeta said. "Hey," he whispers gently. "Are you okay?" I start to nod but, knowing this is pointless, shake my head. "Haymitch, I think we should take Katniss to the doctor."

"Alright, sweetheart. You two lovebirds wait here while I get my car," Haymitch orders. We both nod and Haymitch walks off, gravel grinding under his feet. Peeta sits down in a grassy patch and pulls me into his lap. I lean against him and my fingers trace the blemishes across my leg while his draw circles on my arm.

Before we know it, Haymitch is back. Peeta carefully lifts me up and we sit in the backseat. He interlaces our fingers and gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. "Aw, isn't that sweet?" Haymitch jokes, a smile taking over his face. My glare just makes him chuckle and turn back to face the front. We drive to the nearest doctor's office and once the car is parked we all get out. As we walk in the door, I feel people staring at me and I wonder why. The fire. They know you from the fire. I guess the fire probably made the papers so people know. Haymitch walks up to the counter and tells them it's urgent. We're led into a room and I'm told to sit on the bed that's covered with crinkly tissue paper. Just as the person who brought us in leaves, the man I expect is the doctor rushes in. "What happened to her now?" he questions. I gesture for Peeta and Haymitch to tell him.

"Do you want the long version or the short version?" Peeta asks.

"You can tell me the long version while I examine her. Where does it hurt?" I point at my stomach and he carefully rolls up my shirt like we used to do when changing my bandages.

"Katniss and I were sitting in the woods today when Gale Hawthorne came up. My parents told him where we were, not knowing his intent. He wouldn't go away and kept messing with us so Katniss punched him." The doctor raises his eyebrows and I nod. "He fell and tried to punch her but ended up thumping me in the back. He tried to punch me but I caught it and pushed him to the ground. We ran out of the woods and walked back to my house. After a while there, Prim burst in and told us Gale was on some sort of rampage. We ran to the Hawthorne home and sent the kids to the bakery."

"The kids," I gasp. "We forgot them. Haymitch, go get them." Surprisingly, Haymitch just nods and steps out with no protest.

"Anyway, we walked in and Gale was moving through the house like a tornado. When Katniss got his attention, he lunged at her but she ducked under his arm. Then he jumped on her and they rolled outside. Katniss disentangled herself from him and got him back to the ground. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her down and kicked her gut. She stood up and socked him in the gut and he fell. He started struggling to get up and Katniss told him she didn't want to hurt him any more than she had to. He continued so Katniss kicked his gut just enough to stop him. We put him in a chair and he just had some minor bruising. Katniss's mom wanted to check her but she ran away. Then there was this whole thing about the fire and all Katniss has been through and when we were walking away I asked her if she was okay. She started to nod but ended up shaking her head. I told Haymitch we should take her to a doctor and while he went to get his car we sat on the grass and waited. He was back after a few minutes and we got in and came here." By this time, the doctor seems uninterested in the story. He presses his finger lightly against one of my lower ribs and I gasp in pain.

"It seems to be only minor rib bruising but I'd like to do an x-ray," the doctor tells us. "I'll drive you two to the hospital." We both nod and the doctor leads us out and to his car.