Katniss's POV
If it were at all possible to look around and decide that one moment was the worst moment of your entire life. Than I thought mine had already come and gone. Truth is you cannot pin point the worst day of your life because the more you live the more bad days you have ahead of you. The real worst day of your life is the day you die. I thought I'd have it pinned then, but I had no idea.
Peeta's POV
I let Prim cry into my chest for a good thirty minutes before a woman walked into the waiting room. She wore surgical gear and looked around with purpose. She spotted Prim and I in an instant, she turned and sped over to us.
"I don't have much time because I have to get back." She said, "We've been working on some of her more critical wounds, we had to give her a blood transfusion and her heart stopped for a few moments.
"Now she's stable and the doctors are working diligently. So far we've found several broken ribs and she has a mild concussion. I'll be back in another hour." Then she left. Flat out left.
I felt fear growing strong again. Prim kept crying so I said, "Come on Prim let's go get something to eat. The rest of the office won't be here for another few hours, and she said we have an hour."
Prim nodded only slightly. I took her down to the hospital cafeteria and got her to eat. We walked back up to the waiting room to get another update. A whole hour passes with no word from anyone.
The others were probably still packing in Seattle. Prim and I sat silently together, her hand gripped onto mine. I started to wonder how something like this could have happened to her.
How could something so terrible happen to someone like her, I wondered if she deserved it. But then I took away that thought, she couldn't ever deserve that fate. No one deserved that fate.
Especially not her, not the girl I love more than I ever thought I could love anyone. She was the only one who believed in me, the only one who told me to go for my dreams. The girl I flew out to make sure was okay.
I love her, I know a lot of people would tell me I'm rushing things, but love has no timeline. I can't lose the girl I love.
"Peeta?" Prim asked suddenly.
"Hm?"
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"I'm alright." I said.
"Because you're crying." She said. I quickly wiped my eyes.
"I'm sorry." I said, "I shouldn't be crying she'll be okay."
"Really?"
"Yes,"
"... You must really like her."
"I do." I said. "Truly" Then the woman from before showed up, this time knowing our faces, she found us quickly.
"I'm sorry I'm late there was a problem but she's fine now. Her heart started pumping too much blood and we ended up putting her on bypass because her heart cannot beat on its own. We are starting to put her organs back together-"
"Wait what?" Prim asked.
"Her organs were split open when the knife went through. We're starting to sew them back together. She's stable. I'll be back in a few hours." She said leaving.
"Why is this taking so long?" Prim asked me. "The longer it takes the more serious it is."
"Don't cry Prim they're just being thorough." I said to her taking in my arms again.
"You know it's bad Peeta, her heart's not beating." Truth was I didn't know how bad it was. Not yet.
I hushed her for a while. We just sat alone too. For a long time until my ringing phone broke the sound barrier.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Peeta, It's Annie, we're all on our way to the airport. We'll be there soon."
"Alright Annie."
"I'm putting you on speaker," I heard a button click, "We're all in the car, how is she?"
"Not so well." I sighed and informed them that her heart had stopped and couldn't function on its own. That she was on a ventilator to help her breathe. That she was still in surgery.
"We'll be there soon I promise." Then she hung up.
"Are they coming?" Prim asked.
"Yeah they are." I told her wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "They'll be here soon."
"Where is Gale? He should have been back hours ago. He left at Noon."
"I'm not sure Prim."
"He'd be here, he's like our older brother. He's a part of our family. He needs to be here."
"Do you want to call him?" I asked holding out my phone to her. She shook her head.
"He doesn't answer calls from numbers he doesn't recognize." I nodded, "Peeta, how did you find out... About her?"
"It was on the news."
"But where?"
"It's on national TV."
Prim laughed sourly, "She'd have hated that."
"She will hate it when she wakes up." I reworded for her.
She looked at me, "Do you really think she will?"
"I do."
"People don't just come back from things like this. Not when their surgery's taken seven hours."
"Not many people are like your sister." Prim silently slipped her face back to my chest.
"She might not make it Peeta, we have to accept that."
"She will make it. Do you hear me? She'll make it."
About half an hour later the others showed up.
Ginger and Rue were the first ones I spotted. Thresh right behind them.
I got up and walked over to them, "The others are coming, they're packing our stuff in the hotel." Rue said.
"Thanks guys." I said leading them to Prim.
"Are you her coworkers?" Prim asked.
"Yes." Rue said taking a seat opposite Prim, "I'm Rue and this is Ginger."
"My name is not-"
"I'm Thresh." He said cutting off Ginger.
"Annie and Finn are coming with Glimmer, Johanna, Cato, Clove, Haymitch, Beetee, and Boggs. They told us five minutes." Rue said. Sure enough in five minutes the whole gang wandered into the waiting area.
"Hi guys." I greeted them all. Annie hugged me tightly as the rest of them sat down.
"Hi." Annie said to Prim in a voice one would associate with a daycare worker. "What's you name?"
Prim looked at her in a confused but angered look. "Prim..."
"Hi Prim-"
"I'm sixteen you know that right?"
Annie looked surprised, "But you look so little."
"Just because I'm short doesn't mean I'm little." Prim scowled.
"Annie sit down." Finnick said. He was worried about her flying out and with all the stress, I honestly couldn't feel for him then. My girlfriend was a little busy dying.
The same doctor came out and rushed over to us, "Excuse me, I don't mean to alarm you, but I need to know if any of you are donors."
"I am" Glimmer stood up.
"Are you B?"
"Yes."
"You're a blood donor?" Finnick asked.
"Yeah." Glimmer said as if that fact were obvious.
"Since when?" Haymitch asked.
"Since my dad died four years ago from heart disease."
"I didn't know you're dad was sick." Annie spoke up.
"That's because he's not, he's dead." Glimmer smirked walking out of the waiting room.
"Do any of you know your blood type?" The doctor asked.
"I've got O," Rue spoke up, "I'm a universal donor." She went to the doctor.
"Can I get tested?" I asked.
"Sure." I got up and started to leave, "You are her sister?" The doctor said to Prim, "Come on we can get you tested too."
"I'm A." Prim said. "We've been through this blood donation thing before. We don't have the same blood type."
"But that's not possible," The doctor furrowed her brow.
"It is if you don't have the same father." Prim responded and fell back in her chair. My mind was actually question what the fuck was happening.
"Alright..." The doctor said leading the three of us into a public clinic. There I found out that I had AB and couldn't give her blood even though I wanted to give her everything I could.
They made us sit on beds and wait for ten minutes before standing up. Glimmer said normally they gave her five.
"So you donate blood," I said awkwardly.
"Yeah." She said.
"That's really great. I wouldn't have pegged you as the kind to-"
"Peeta, I may have been a bitch in high school, but I did grow up."
"Huh?"
"Peeta, I'm not stupid I know you're still mad about high school. I know you thought I was just some heartless bitch and I can be, everyone can be. But here's the thing. I like Katniss. And I do give blood. And I do volunteer at the animal shelter on weekends.
"I do it because I'm not totally heartless. I do it because even I can be a good person.
"Even though I'm the slut of the office, and even though everyone thinks I'm stalking you which is just fucking creepy." I looked at her for a moment and suddenly didn't see the same girl from Junior and Senior years, "You know, there are two things I can't stand in this world. Assholes and people getting things they didn't deserve. Katniss didn't deserve what happened to her. A lot of people don't deserve what happens to them. But that doesn't mean they can't stand up and get better." Then she got up and left.
I never questioned her again.
Rue and I walked back to the waiting room where Annie was trying without success to calm Prim.
"It's alright you know." Annie said.
"What about any of this is alright?" Prim asked, "I'm so tired of people telling me a bunch of untrue... Shit!"
Cursing did not seem right coming out of her mouth, "I've been sitting here for ten hours. Ten. I know that my sister is going to die and there is nothing I can do about it!"
"You don't know-"
"Yes I do." Prim stood up crying, "I do know, I've seen all of this before. I know that they'll do everything they can and I'll still lose her, that's what happened with our dad."
I walked towards them as Annie spoke up, "I know you're upset Prim but-"
"You don't have a clue." Prim said, "You should be thankful that you have no idea what this feels like. You aren't my mother. And thank god because my mother is crazy. I've never needed a mother before and I don't need one now I just need my sister."
I pulled her away from her argument, her eyes red and dark with exhaustion.
"I can't stay here, but I can't just leave." Prim sobbed effortlessly. It was like she was just deteriorating in front of me.
"When did you last sleep?" I asked.
"What does that matter?"
"Katniss won't want you tired when she wakes up."
"She-"
"I have a hotel room not far from here. Come on." I took her hands and started to lead her away. We were stopped by the same doctor walking in, this time blood running down the front of her surgical gown.
"We're moving her up to the ICU so some of the anesthetic can wear off."
"Can we see her?" Prim asked eagerly.
The doctor sighed, "No." She avoided looking into our eyes. "Her body can't take that much anesthesia all at once. We patched her up but we're going to operate again in a couple of hours. The surgeons are going to rest up, and we'll go back and finish tomorrow.
"You must understand the trauma she received was extreme. She's not breathing on her own, her heart's not beating on its own. She is very weak and I don't think any of you would want to see her like that. Go home, rest, come back tomorrow and we'll see where we stand." I nodded and led Prim out of the hospital.
We walked swiftly and quietly until we reached my hotel room. "Peeta," Prim spoke up.
"Yes?"
"... Katniss told me about your brother. I think you're the only one who understands to some degree..."
"No Prim. We knew no one would survive on the planes. I don't know what you're feeling."
"But you love her. So it has to hurt like it hurts me." I did, it really did.
"Prim could you tell me something?" I asked. She nodded quickly, "What did you means when you said you and Katniss don't have the same father."
She chuckled, "My mother went crazy long before my dad died." She started off. "My mom found out she was pregnant when she was fifteen. Her and dad got married, but dad didn't want anymore kids. He knew my mom wasn't all there. She never was.
"But when Katniss was seven, my mom got confused. She always said that some people's faces were unrecognizable. She accidentally, and I use the term lightly, slept with another man. We still don't know who he is. But he's my father. And I got his blood.
"Why do you think I'm blonde and she's not?" She chuckled again. "God I'm a mess." I didn't say anything. She got up and used the shower, but changed back into her clothes. She was still wearing her pajama's from the night before.
My phone rang as she was in the shower. "Hello?" I answered.
"Hi sweetie, we just wanted to make sure you were okay. We finally got that Google machine to work. It just sounds terrible. How is she honey?"
"She's in the ICU now, they'll be taking her for another surgery tomorrow." I said though it truly hurt to say it.
"Well hang in there honey, a patient is only as strong as their support."
"Thanks mom. Night."
"Night." I changed and crawled into the bed closest to the door. Anxious for tomorrow to come.
The next day at six in the morning Prim and I woke from restless nights and started out for the hospital. We were quick and made it just before the others. We all sat in silence Prim and I simply alone until the others arrived.
But even when Clove and Cato showed up they didn't say anything. No one did for a long time until Gale wandered in.
At first I didn't recognize his frightened face, nor did I recognize the tall blonde with him.
"Gale!" Prim shouted and ran into his arms. She started hitting his chest, "Where were you!? I needed you!"
"I know I'm sorry kid." He said taking her punches well. The fact was he was huge and probably didn't feel it.
"Prim come on let's sit yeah?" The blonde took Prim back to her seat and straightened out her hair.
"I brought you your laptop." Gale said setting it on his lap when he sat down, "The police are all gone now."
"Why did you leave?" Prim asked. "You just left me here."
"It's not that simple kid." He said.
"Prim why don't we look at some of those videos you made," The blonde suggested.
"Madge, why did you guys stay away for so long."
"I'll tell you later I promise Prim." Madge sat down continuing to run her fingers through Prim's hair.
"Why not now? You guys never tell me anything, and now Katniss isn't here. I need to know things too."
"Prim it's complicated." Gale sighed.
"Then make it easy." Prim said.
Gale looked down at the laptop before speaking, "Prim, I've made a lot of promises to your sister. More than I can count, and I haven't kept any of them.
"I promised her the world, that we would get married, and never look back at home. Obviously that never happened." I had been and still am glad he didn't keep those promises. "She made me promise when she was eighteen that if she ever ended up in the hospital, for whatever reason. That I couldn't stay longer than an hour, unless she was having a baby.
"She didn't want to intrude on my life, and she said if it took longer than an hour she'd be dead anyway. I haven't kept my promises with her, and I've been a real dick to her... but I can keep this promise." Gale said. It caught my attention that he was so disappointed in himself. That he really truly cared for her as I did.
He handed the laptop over to Prim. Prim looked through her files slowly before happening upon images.
"Peeta look," She smiled showing me a slide show of pictures, "This was her class."
"Her class?" I asked as a picture of Katniss with a picture book and children around her appeared.
"She taught a French class every week at the elementary school." Prim said.
"Why?" I asked remembering her saying something along the lines of being terrible with children.
"Because kids are her thing. She's like a child magnet. If she wasn't training her own horse, she was running camps, or teaching kids French."
"But she said she wasn't any good with kids." Finnick spoke up.
Prim narrowed her eyes but Madge spoke, "Are you kidding? She loves kids, she sets up a huge Easter egg hunt each year at the farm, not to mention all the other holiday things they do there."
"She loves children." Prim said as I watched Katniss working with little kids. For a split moment I didn't wonder why she'd lied to us, but I thought to myself, 'I hope someday she can do this with our kids.'
My questioning thoughts were interrupted when the doctor from before showed up in the waiting room two surgeons on either side of her.
"We have an update on her." She said.
"Is she out of surgery?" Gale asked.
"Yes," The doctor on the left said, "But I'm afraid we have to tell you about her condition."
"Her condition?" Annie asked wearily.
The doctor on the right spoke up, "We believe she may be, brain dead."
I couldn't believe it, "Brain dead, what does that mean?"
"It means that we are very skeptical that she will ever wake up."