Chapter Eleven

"I want to take him out."

Rose looked at her like she was crazy. "What?" she asked her daughter slowly.

Katniss had never been so firm with her mother before in her entire life. "I want to take him out," she repeated. "I want to take Peeta to the beach. Tonight."

"Katniss, sweetheart, I'm sorry, but are you serious?" asked her mother. "Peeta is severely ill. He can barely make it to the bathroom on his own, let alone be able to go to the . . . beach? Someone of his physical condition can't leave his bed."

"Mum, Peeta's dying," Katniss' voice wobbled and she fought to keep herself together. "He has a wish, he told me it, I want to fufill it for him. He wants to see one last sunset. And the beach is the perfect place for that. The sky is beautiful when the sun sets at the beach. Please let me take him."

Rose shook her head. "No Katniss, it could be fatal for him," she said. "I know you've made it your job to look out for Peeta but some things just can't be helped."

"He has four months left to live," Katniss insisted. "Who cares about what's fatal anymore? I can bring his drip with him, you could come as well to make sure everything runs smoothly. Please mum, this is Peeta's wish."

"Katniss," Rose said seriously. "No."

Frustrated, Katniss yelled and stormed away. Her mother didn't understand. If Peeta was going to die, didn't he deserve to see that one last thing before he died? To her and the others, a simple sunset was something that could be abused for years to come but, to Peeta, every one was special. And she wanted to fufill his last wish for him.

"Why don't you just do it?" asked Clove later that day. "Sneak him out?"

"Because apparently it could be fatal to him," Katniss muttered, plumping Rue's pillow for her.

"Isn't he already dying?"

Hearing it come from someone else, Katniss winced. She didn't want Peeta to die. Yet it was inevitable. The doctors had tried what they could but Peeta had been taken off his chemotherapy and all they could do was make him comfortable until the day he let go.

"I don't want to hurt him," Katniss replied. She desperately wanted to show him the beach sunset but she also didn't want to be responsible for something serious happening to him that could shorten his life even further.

"Katniss, Peeta only has four months left," Marvel said. "He's already hurting, can't you see that?"

"It sounds like seeing the sunset would make him extremely happy," said Glimmer. "I mean, four months isn't long. And some people die sooner than what the doctor tells them."

"But what if my actions shortens the time he has left?" asked Katniss.

"So he finally gets to see what he has been dreaming of ever since he was admitted to this hospital?" asked Clove. "I think it would be worth it."

Katniss folded her arms and sat on the windowsill. "What if I get caught?" she asked.

"Say you're taking him for some fresh air, they won't question it," Marvel said. "You drive, right?" Katniss nodded. "Then get him into the car and drive. Take him to the beach, he deserves to have one last decent experience before the badness hits."

"The badness?"

"You have your last good day," said Clove. "But you don't realize it's your last good day because it just seems like a pretty decent day at the time." She patted her blue book. "Give Peeta his last good day before his condition declines."

Katniss stared at the floor for a moment. They were right. Peeta deserved one last good day before his disease over took him. "You're right," she said. "Will you guys cover for us if the doctors ask where we are?"

Glimmer nodded. "Of course we will."

~xXx~

It was easy to obtain a wheelchair. Katniss found one on the bottom floor and brought it up to Peeta's room. It was nearing the curfew, which was the best time to leave because the corridors weren't as busy. She knocked on Peeta's door and bumped it open with her hip.

She second guessed herself when she saw him. He was curled up on his side, fast asleep. Glimmer's orange bandana was wrapped around his head, the fabric complimenting his pale complextion. But Katniss knew that it was now or never. She didn't know if she'd be able to buck up the courage to do this again.

"Peeta," she whispered, placing a hand on his bony shoulder. "Peeta, wake up."

"Hmf? Katniss?" Peeta forced his eyes open and blinked rapidly to clear his vision. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Katniss said gently. "I just want to take you somewhere."

"Really?"

Katniss helped ease him up and moved his drip around to her side of the bed. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked. Peeta nodded and shrugged on his nightgown. "Tell me if you feel ill immediately, I need to know."

"Why, where are we going?" Peeta asked.

"I'm taking you to see the sunset at the beach," Katniss said. Peeta's eyes lit up. Katniss' heart sang at the sight. She held onto the crook of his arm and placed her hand on the small of his back to help him into the wheelchair. "Come on, let's go," she said.

"You're really doing this for me?" Peeta asked as they left his room. His knuckles were white as he clutched his drip and pulled it along with them.

"Of course I am," said Katniss. "I want to make your day."

On the corridor they met a couple of nurses who didn't know about Katniss' community service. All Katniss had to say was that she was taking him out for air before bed and they let her. She purposely parked close to the hospital so there wasn't far to travel.

Katniss opened the passenger door. "I have a sick bucket in case you get sick and a bottle of water to keep you hydrated on the way."

"You did that for me?" Peeta asked.

Katniss smiled. "Of course I did," she said. She helped him into the seat before packing his wheelchair and drip hook into the trunk of the car. "The beach isn't too far away. Maybe about ten minutes," she said as she climbed into the driver side. "Feel free to sleep until we get there."

Peeta nodded but forced himself to stay awake. Katniss worried at how pale he looked but knew that if he was going to take sick, he would tell her. "I can't believe you're doing this for me," he said.

"I'm sure you'd do it for me," Katniss replied. She glanced at him. "Would you?"

Peeta smiled weakly, "Definitely."

The journey to the beach was quiet. Peeta was silent to due fatigue but Katniss didn't panic because everytime she glanced at him, he flashed her a wide smile that put her heart to rest. Her heart was racing. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Breaking all the rules just for one boy. If someone had have told her that she was going to push against an authority at the beginning of the year, she would have thought it was something to do with her protests. Not this.

The sky was just beginning to turn pink when they reached the beach. Katniss jumped out of the car. "Stay there, two ticks, I just need to set up."

"Okay," Peeta replied.

Katniss quickly ran around the car and rummanged around in the backseat for something they could sit on. Thankfully, the picnic blanket from old family outings was still wedged underneath the middle seat. Katniss grabbed it and made her way down a small sand slope to a nice spot near the grass hills. The beach was empty since it was the middle of the week, which she was thankful for. If there were people milling around who kept staring at them, Katniss didn't know if she'd be able to keep her temper in check.

When she returned, she unfolded the wheel chair and brought it round to Peeta's side of the car. "Do you need help?" she asked him

"No, I can do it," Peeta said. Despite the fact he sounded sure, Katniss' hand still hovered uneasily between them as he heaved himself out of the car and dropped tiredly into the wheelchair. He was holding his drip bag in his hand and Katniss grabbed the hook from the trunk of the car when they passed.

Katniss paused when they reached the sand slope. "I think I could get the chair down there . . ."

"Don't be ridiculous," Peeta replied. "Help me up." Katniss bit her lip, unsure. "Katniss, help me up, I'm fine."

She reluctantly did as he said, letting him grab hold of her arm and heave himself up. As soon as he was standing, she wound her arm around his shoulder and another around his waist to keep him supported. They made their way down the slope carefully. Katniss had never been so focused on her feet so much as she did in that moment.

"Oh god, that took it out of me," Peeta huffed as he sat down.

"Are you okay?" Katniss asked in alarm.

He chuckled. "Yes. Sit down you goofball."

Katniss made sure the drip hook was standing properly before sitting down beside him. They both gazed out at the sea, where the sun was disappearing behind it. Time seemed to stand still as the sky was posioned with a hazy orange glow, bursting at the seams with vibrant reds and yellows.

"Effie is going to kill you," Peeta said. He was breathing heavily but his eyes where alight with delight. The blue orbs were consuming everything in front of him. Katniss wished she could see it the way did, see how beautiful it was through his eyes.

"I could care less," Katniss muttered.

"This isn't going to affect your community service, is it?"

Katniss lied and shook her head. The fact of the matter was, she was risking everything just to do this for him. Why was she doing that? Why hadn't she stopped to consider the consequences of her actions? But the overwhelmed and joyous expression was Peeta's face as he stared at the sunset made everything worth while.

"I wonder how many I've got left," Peeta said quietly.

"Don't talk like that," Katniss replied. "You've got plenty left."

Peeta closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm no fool," he said shakily. "I'm going to die."

"No you aren't."

"Katniss." Her name came out as a hiss. "Stop it."

"You can't!" Katniss wailed. "This isn't fair! You're the first person who has managed to get me to care, to get me to give a damn about others. To have desires and think that maybe, just maybe, there's a possibility I can love someone. You can't just leave, it's not fair!"

"I don't want to leave," Peeta said. Katniss squeezed her eyes shut. Of course he didn't. Why was she treating him like it was his decision to die? "You know, that night I nearly died, I was in the coma like state, remember?"

"I remember." Katniss shuddered at the memory. The fear that had gripped her at the thought of Peeta dying, how her mother had made her leave, how she had sat with him all night before Effie told her she had to stay away . . .

"I was woken up by your singing," said Peeta. His thin fingers played with the fabric of the blanket they sat on. "But I thought I was already dead."

Katniss' heart felt like a knife had stabbed into it. "W-Why?"

Peeta looked away from her, a blush staining his cheeks. "Because I thought an angel had come to take me and was singing to me."

Katniss didn't know how to respond. She tried at least three times but she couldn't find the right words. She had been complimented on her singing before, by many people, but not on this level. Peeta thought she had been an angel-you know, the heavenly kind-coming to take him away.

"I had never been more terrified before in my entire life," Peeta murmured.

Katniss' eyebrows screwed up as a painful lump forced its way into her throat. "You don't have to be afraid," she said. A thought came to mind that made her heart soar. She wasn't on duty right now, the hospital couldn't accuse her of breaking her community service because she wasn't on duty! She slipped her hand into his, holding it tight. "You never have to be afraid again."

Somehow, what she did next felt right.

She reached out and turned his face so he was looking at her. And then, before she could second guess it, she pressed their lips together.

Peeta breathed in sharply but didn't push her away. His hands trembled-whether from nerves or the sickness, Katniss couldn't tell-and shook violently as he held onto her arms. Wamrth spread through her body from their lips met and set her nerves alight. Shivers, the good kind, jittered through her body. Peeta's fingers found the end of her braid and Katniss smiled into the kiss, making their teeth clash together by accident.

They both yelped and broke apart.

"That was . . ."

Katniss smiled shyly. "Amazing." She leaned forward and reconnected her lips, sending the same electric pulse through her body. She would have kept kissing him forever if she could but after a while Peeta had to pull away to gasp for breath. "You okay?"

Peeta nodded. "Just a bit . . . intense."

Katniss winced. "Sorry."

"No, it was good, I just . . . I've been off the oxygen for a while and haven't adjusted yet."

Katniss felt ashamed. She rubbed his back a little, as if it would help him breath easier. "I'm such an idiot, I should have known," she said.

Peeta laughed. "Katniss, don't be silly, if I didn't want you to kiss me I would have told you. Trust me, it's fine. I'm giving you my last breaths."

"Oh . . ." Katniss hadn't thought of it like that. Her hand went to her throat, as if she could feel Peeta's last breaths travelling down her airways to her lungs. "These aren't your last breaths. You still have many left."

Peeta curled his knees up to his chest. "I'm breathing my last breaths, Katniss. All of them are numbered. If I could, I'd give them all to you."

"Oh, Peeta," she said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and stroking the bandana on his head. She scowled and pushed it away. "That's better."

"Urgh, put it back on," Peeta said said, trying to pull it on. Katniss slapped his hands away gently. "Ow, what the hell?"

"Don't touch the bandana," Katniss warned. "You look just fine." Peeta made a disagreeing sound but she ignored it. Katniss kissed the top of his head, letting hers rest ontop of it. They looked back out at the sky. "It's beautiful."

"I know," Peeta agreed.

Katniss and Peeta just sat there like that, for what felt like hours, as the sun disappeared. Even long after that, just sitting under the stars in silence. Katniss could imagine doing this many times with Peeta. Sitting on the beach, going on dates with each other, kissing and teasing each other. She could see all of it.

A life they would never have . . .

A/N: Please R&R with your thoughts! :D