***UPDATE!*** I had to change the first sentence in this chapter so my readers don't think I am pulling a "Twilight" in chapter 12 and 13. My goal was to have several months pass after the Peeta incident, but I didn't realize I didn't make enough time pass. Hope it is a bit more realistic for you all now ;) *****

This chapter isn't very entertaining, but it has a lot of Peeta and Katniss time. I had to have a transition chapter to get to the more interesting storylines. Please keep reviewing and tell me what you think!

Chapter 10

It has been about a few months since Peeta attacked me; it's nearly harvest time. We were both in the hospital for about a week and were free to go home. Haymitch has been coming over on a regular basis, mostly to check on me, to make sure Peeta hasn't snapped again.

Peeta now has weekly visits from his doctor. They have been working with him on a new treatment, and according to them, it has been very successful so far. Part of his treatment is to view pictures of tracker jackers and then immediately a picture of me; he has finally started getting a handle on his emotions. I have watched a few of his sessions with Haymitch, and the distant darkness in his eyes has gradually disappeared all together.

I am not fully comfortable around Peeta yet. If he makes sudden movements, I tend to flinch and get frightened easily. It is not an ideal situation, but I am going to be there for him. He has suffered through so much for me; I am going to do everything in my power to do the same for him.

I woke up to the sound of thunder; it is just starting to get light out. When I opened my eyes, Peeta was staring at me with a smile. Though his smile was welcome, I sensed that something wasn't right. "Are you okay?" I ask with a little hint of concern.

Peeta relaxes his body, brushes my hair back, and rests his hand on my waist. "Yea, I'm just listening to the storm, and thinking a bit." I snuggle into his chest, not ready to get up and he holds on to me more tightly. I could feel his gentle stroke on the small of my back; back and forth, back and forth. It was very relaxing; his breathing is soft and even. He smells of soap and bread, but I love its familiarity.

"What are you thinking about?" I can hear the rain pellets on the window sill. The thunder and lightning is getting closer; I can hear Buttercups growling at the storm under the chair across the room. The room is chilly and a shiver runs down my body. Peeta grabs the sheet and covers me up. I roll over so he can wrap his arms around me; I can feel him tucking my head under his chin. His body is emanating so much heat that it gives me goose bumps.

"Well, for one thing, I'm thinking I need to get out of this bed and get started on some bread." He laughs as I elbow him in the gut. I am so glad that his sense of humor is gradually coming back to him.

"But I'm just starting to get warm." I hint because I don't want him to leave yet. I can hear him chuckle lightly and he rewards me with my favorite smile. He rolls my body towards him and we share a very long, deep kiss. This, of course, excites my whole body and I'm not thinking of sleep anymore. "What else is on your mind?" I finally get out when we both come up for air.

His fingers lightly trace my forehead, cheek, lips, and finally I can feel his soft touch on my neck. My breathing starts to get heavier and I run my fingers through his hair. He lifts his head and passionately kisses me once more before resting his body on mine. While his head rests on my chest, I play with his hair while my arm rests on his naked back. My breathing slows and I start to realize how much I love this moment. It is now raining harder and I can hear it perfectly through the open window. The sheer curtains are lightly flowing through the room and the air smells like the woods. "I gave you that pearl on the beach. Real or not real." He says without moving. I look onto the nightstand to see what he is seeing and smile as I recall the day he gave that to me.

I carried that pearl every day as a reminder that we would be together again; I never lost hope that Peeta would come back to me. "Real." I say as I bend over to kiss his head.

"And you kept it…all this time?" he looks at me curiously. I stare at him and can't help but smile.

"I always had it with me,everywhere I went. It reminded me of you." He lifted his body slightly, only enough to kiss me.

"Thank you for not giving up on me." He whispered. A tear ran down my cheek at his words. All the memories of losing him after the second arena came flooding back to me at once. He kissed my tear away; his kiss was so sweet and thoughtful. "Sweetheart, don't cry." I struggled to maintain my composure but I gave him a strong, reassuring nod with a smile. He grabbed my chin and lifted me towards him. I opened my mouth as his tongue kissed me deeper. I could feel his warm hands on my sides, slowly lifting my shirt. I sat up and allowed him to remove it. "You smell so good." He said as he buried his face in my hair.

I could feel his breath on my neck and then his soft lips. Both our breathing grew heavier. He rest his back against the headboard and grabbed my legs so as to straddle him. I kiss his mouth, neck, and I make my way down to his collarbone. Even with the scars, I can see the curves of all of his muscles. He buried his face in my chest and I lifted my head back to relish in his touch. I could feel how hard he was against my thighs and I realized how much my body was reacting in the same manner.

He removed my underwear and slightly raised me onto him. We made love slowly. My hands ran up and down his chest and back. His fingers glided along my body; sending goose bumps all over and I kissed him. His hands moved to my face. His thrusts grew faster and I could feel his kiss down my neck and shoulders until I felt a tiny bite. I moaned loudly at the pleasure. "Oh Peeta!"

He grabbed my body and laid me on my back. His arms wrapped around me tightly while I hugged him around his neck. He thrust quickly and I could barely contain myself. His moaning grew louder with every thrust. "Katniss" He moaned out of breath. He rubbed his fingers between my legs and I couldn't hold it in any longer. I let out a loud moan and my entire body shook with pleasure. He kept rubbing and thrusting, allowing me to enjoy every bit of my orgasm. Finally he let out a loud moan and rests his body against mine.

"I love you, Peeta." I say with my eyes closed. He kissed my nose and held me tighter.

"I love you too, sweetheart." We both fell asleep until the sun started peering through the clouds. Peeta crawled out of bed and I could hear him getting dressed. I looked at the clock and realized we had slept half the day away. I reluctantly got out of bed and head towards the bathroom to get ready for the day. I heard a knock on the door as I was brushed my teeth. I opened it and laughed at his politeness. He walked past me and smacked my bottom from behind.

I jumped and looked at him with a laughing, yet shocked look on my face. "What?" he asks in a clever voice. His face looked playful and I couldn't resist how adorable it was. I rolled my eyes and continue brushing. He gave a big smile and started brushing his teeth as well. Just when I finished braiding my hair he grabbed me by the waist and kissed me goodbye. "I might be late tonight since we decided to sleep the whole day." He said sarcastically.

"Okay." I say with a frown. He turned around and gave me an understanding smile. His hands pulled me closer while he wrapped his arms, tightly, around me.

"I promise I'll try getting done as early as I can. You could always join me, if you'd like." He says with a wink. He gently kissed my forehead and released my waist.

"I'm pretty sure your bakery would go out of business if I was baking." I laughed out loud. He rolled his eyes and gave me a quick peck on the lips. I gave in and let him go.

After he was gone I made my way to the kitchen. Just as I was entering through the doorway I heard the front door open in the other room. I sighed, knowing that it is Haymitch checking up on me again. Sure enough, his scruffy face and dingy, wrinkly clothes gave him away. "Morning sweetheart." He says with his usual tone. He looked around the room, scanning for something. "What, no breakfast?" I roll my eyes, walk over to the cupboard, and grabbed the closest bottle of liquor I could see. I walked over to the table and set the bottle right in front of him.

"Will this do?" I said in a sarcastic tone.

"Well I could use a glass, unless, of course, you want me to drink it straight out of the bottle." He said with a wink. I went to the sink and grabbed a glass that was sitting out to dry from the night before and handed it to him. "You know sweetheart, some bread and jam would go great with this." I can't help but wonder if he is purposely trying to annoy me or if he even realizes he is doing it.

"I don't have any bread. Peeta got a late start this morning." I said as I sat down at the table with him. Haymitch reclined back and had a growing smirk on his face.

"I see you two have made up then?" I couldn't help but let a smile escape my lips.

"We're getting there." I say trying not to give every detail away. "So what brings you here so early in the morning?" He grabbed his glass and took two healthy gulps; I cringed at his inability to get it all in his mouth. His clothes were stained from being saturated countless times before. I grabbed a napkin and handed it to him. He nodded a thank you and wiped his face clean.

"Your trip to the Capital is back on and you will be leaving the day after tomorrow." He said grudgingly. My good mood instantly took a turn for the worst. I let out a frustrated sigh. Can't they just leave me alone? Why do they want to hear me say a stupid speech anyways? Can't they understand I just want to live my life as normal as possible?

"You can't be serious. Where are my stylists..and Effie?" I said in an exasperated tone. He grabbed his bottle of white liquor and refilled his glass.

"They will be here any minute now. You should probably go ahead and get Peeta too; they have to make both of you look pretty again." I gave him a quick slap on the back of his head and he spilled a great deal of liquor in his lap. "Hey, you made me spill my drink!" He said with slurred words.

"Oh like your clothes can tell the difference if it was your fault or mine. Either way they are filthy." He thought about my words for a few seconds and gave a shrug and a nod as he agreed. I walked over to the phone so I could call and warn Peeta that we were about to be bombarded with the colorful people of the Capital any minute, but as I looked out the window towards his house I could see a bright pink lady with an abnormally large umbrella over her head. Her pointy feet slowly climbed the steps of his porch. I let out another sigh and waited for his phone call.

It wasn't two minutes later when I heard the phone ring, I knew it was him. "Ugh…Effie is here, and apparently we are going to the Capital in a day." His voice was confused and a little shocked. Usually we get at least a week's heads up before we get visitors from the Capital.

"Yea, I was just about to call and warn you. Haymitch just told me the news." I can't hide my annoyance. I really don't want to go and I keep hoping they might change their minds; not likely.

"Well we are all on our way over there to start prepping." He let out a tiny sigh. "I guess we could have stayed in bed a little longer after all." I let out a tiny snort at his joke, wanting nothing more than to hide in my room with him until this Capital trip was over with.

The stylists worked wonders in such a short period of time. My skin was flawless and, once again, I couldn't keep my eyes off the perfection that was Peeta. The trip to the Capital was dull and uneventful. That night, on the train, Peeta and I avoided the movie room. This time we stayed in his bedroom playing a quiet game of chess. We both felt this was probably the safest; I don't think we could stop the rumors if I ended up in the hospital again.

As we were pulling into the Capital's train station, I could see hundreds of people, all gleaming every color of the rainbow. They were all cheering and applauding our arrival. Peeta crossed the room and put a calming hand on my shoulder. I tilted my head towards his touch, closed my eyes, and allowed myself a minute to forget what we were about to do. His head bent down to my ear as he whispered. "You can do this Katniss."

Effie came into the room and shuffled us through the doors. As we were walking off the platform, a pathway through the crowd was opened. Peeta grabbed my hand for reassurance; I clenched it so tightly. All I could see were thousands of people applauding and cheering for us. Peeta was smiling and waving but I couldn't seem to do anything but look around as if I was going in slow motion. I don't want to be here…

My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12. Or what is left of District 12. I am the Mockingjay. I brought down the Capitol. I killed the President..I am loved by all the people. I am supposed to be their Mockingjay; I don't want to be their Mockingjay. I want to be me.

Peeta guided me through the yelling crowds; I pulled myself closer to him. He wrapped his arm around me and me a look of concern. I shook my head and gave a confident nod; I don't want him worrying about me. I am just being childish. When we entered the building it was like there were no people. The glass walls were sound proof. I had to turn around at the screaming, happy people to realize that they were still there. Peeta leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

I grabbed his hand and gave him a nod. "Yes, just glad the hard part is done." He kissed me again as Effie guided us towards the elevator. Though there are luxuries beyond my greatest dreams, here in the Capital, the part I look forward to the most are the elevators. Every time I ride them, I want to keep going up and down. I have never been so fascinated with something in my entire life.

"We will be going up to the twelfth floor, your guy's former penthouse suite." Effie said with a squeal. "Haymitch will accompany you in a short while; he is giving a few interviews to the reporters." I let out a sigh of relief. He must have realized how uncomfortable I was coming in. I don't give him much credit, but he does a great deal for Peeta and I. "You two have the rest of the night to yourselves but I expect you up bright and early!" She said with great demand in her voice.

When the elevator doors opened to our suite a flood of memories dashed before my eyes. Peeta clenched my hand; it was as if we were experiencing de javu. "Pretty freaky huh?" He asks in a quiet tone. I nod my head and agree. We walk through the door and don't let go of each other.

"It is exactly the same. I kind of expected it to be completely different." Peeta laughed and nodded his head.

"Well, I have several interviews I must be getting to. You two make yourselves at home now." Effie instructed in her high pitched voice. The door closed and Effie was gone. The room was quiet, with only the sound of a fountain in the background. Peeta drew himself near me.

"So, can I interest you in a bubble bath?" My mood instantly changed at the thought of spending the entire night in this luxurious room with him. The last time we were here we didn't get to enjoy ourselves because for all we knew, we were both going to die within the next few weeks. This time, however, we only had the tortures of Capital speeches.

"Only if it is rose scented." I wink at him. He grabbed me by the hand and we ran towards the bathroom. As the gigantic tub filled with rose scented bubble bath water, we stripped each other of our clothing. Once we were naked, he started to gently take out my braid. My hair fell to the middle of my back and he brushed it out with his fingers. When he was done he gently moved my hair and started kissing at my shoulder.

"You are so beautiful, Katniss, and I am the luckiest guy in the world." I turn around and we kissed for what seemed like forever. Finally our steaming hot bath was ready and he slowly guided me into the tub.