|AN|: Hi everyone. I know I haven't updated in a veeery long time, but I've had a bit crazy time in my life and there were a lot of things in the way. Anyways, I finally updated and I hope beyond everything that you'll like this chapter because it took me quite a while to write it.

From this place, I want to thank all of those who stood by me all this time and encouraged me to keep going. It means the world to me.

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and I hope you will let me know what you think about it.

Happy Reading.

WHO LAUGHS LAST

Chapter XI:
The Fire and The Ice

It was just like in a fairytale, the way Montana looked at Winter. Annie was quite sure she haven't seen anything remotely as beautiful as the mountains, meadows and rooftops covered in thick, immaculately white snow. As much as outside world was so cold, that Annie was almost sure she had frozen off all of her limbs every time she left the warmth of the house, the atmosphere on the ranch kept getting warmer and warmer. For the middle sister's immense joy, even Jo and Katniss fought less and less those days, during which Sae was cooking all kinds of delicious and nutritious food, that kept the cowboy's and girls full of energy and made Annie gain some weight that for some reason made Finnick look at her in a new way.

She could also feel the love in the air. Oh yeah, there was much more love happening around now than Snow Rock's ranch had ever seen in its history. Of course, there were she and Finnick, who only half jokingly were already considered married by nearly everybody in the town and, as for Jo and Gale, everybody could see how hard they tried to not look like teenagers in love, failing miserably as they were repeatedly caught by random people, making out in various places.

The most amazing thing that happened though, the one that got Annie Cresta beyond excited, was the newly discovered and well kept secret of Kaniss and Peeta's blossoming affection.

Nearly everybody in town knew how Peeta Mellark felt about Katniss Everdeen, but no one besides the two and Annie, who found out completely accidentally, knew that somewhere along the way Katniss Everdeen not only started to return the affection but also, or maybe more importantly, finally realized that the boy loved her since forever.

One day, when Annie was looking for Katniss to talk to her about something that was forgotten as soon as Annie opened the door to Katniss' office, she saw the two ranchers pressed closely together. They weren't making out, no, but they were obviously lost into each other's gazes and some quite conversation that seemed extremely intimate. The thing that got Annie the most in that moment though, wasn't the situation itself. It was the little, but honest and blissful smile gracing Katniss' lips.

Yes, the atmosphere on Snow Rock's kept getting warmer and warmer, and there was nothing on this world that could make Annie happier.

"I've always wanted to have sex in front of a fireplace." Murmured Johanna into Gale's ear as she passed him in the living room. He was standing in front of the fireplace, lost in deep thought, slowly sipping whisky from a low glass filled with perfectly shaped ice-cubes. He startled a bit at her presence and even managed a weak smile, but she knew him better than that. The truth was, he was worried. A couple of days before, Chaff and Cato had found some dead pigs in the pigpen, killed the same way the cows and the old cat and Gale knew how much it affected everyone on the ranch. Especially his little sister. As much as she tried to stay calm, Gale knew Katniss better than she knew herself and he was positive, she was terrified. She would never admit it or show it in any way, but it didn't change the fact that he knew the truth, and it scared him more than anything. Now, there was also the fact that Katniss wasn't the only woman on the Snow Rock's ranch anymore. She wasn't the only person he cared about enough to want to protect at any time. There were her sisters, one of which, he lately had in his bed most of the nights.

Johanna didn't push Gale into talking or admitting his worries. As much as they were different, Katniss and Gale were also the same in many ways. One of the similarities, was the reluctance to admit their troubles and worries, what in Jo's opinion made Gale sexy and Katniss unbearable.

Instead of worrying about her lover and her sister, Johanna pushed away all of those dark thoughts and though about the upcoming Holidays, her mother and the fact that it will be her first Christmas spend without her. It made the young woman strangely nostalgic, because when she thought of Christmas, she saw the ridiculous plastic tree with tons of ornaments that her mom insisted on putting on, she saw people wearing short sleeves and ridiculous Santa hats in the very not Christmassy Californian weather. She saw the old Frank Sinatra vinyl, that her Mother always played on Christmas morning from which, if she could sing, Jo would be able to sing every single song. This year she wouldn't have any of those things and she couldn't help that it made her kind of sad.

She ran into Katniss in the kitchen and wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of her. Her younger sister was all sweaty and covered in all kinds of nasty things, that Jo didn't want to know the origin of.

"Did Gale finished talking with sheriff Cray already?" She asked loading water bottles into a big cotton bag. Johanna nodded her head a couple of times.

"He's all dark, handsome and brooding in the living room right now." She stated, making Katniss rise her eyebrows at her older sister. "I wanted to talk to him but… I don't really know what to say to ease his mind a bit." She added. Katniss sighed loudly.

"The thing with Gale is that… you don't really have to say anything to him. You just have to be near him. I know he worries, probably more than he should and there's nothing that anybody can say to make him feel better. I know him pretty well, Jo and I know that he just feels the thing he, both of us, hate to feel more than anything. Helplessness. He won't stop worrying until he finds the bastard who's doing all of this, but it doesn't mean there's no way of taking his mind off of things. With me it was always cracking a lame joke or just simply hugging him, but since my mood is not too good right now and I'm all covered in animal birth fluids I don't think any of those is an option. Besides… I think he prefers you those days anyway." Explained Katniss already heading towards the door.

"Ok, I guess I will just… wait a sec, did you just say 'animal birth fluids'?" Asked Jo with horror.

"It's the cows birth season Jo and someone has to help the mama's get their babies out." Replied Katniss with a shrug, right before leaving the house.

She never had the chance to notice her eldest sister gagging behind her back.

"You're just jealous old man, 'cause you haven't fucking won at poker in half a century." Panted Cato as he stuck a syringe into new born calf's ass.

"I haven't won, my ass." Grumbled Chaff, who was getting redder and redder with anger, caused by the pointless argument with the younger rancher. The men were butting their heads since the very beginning of their work day, and Katniss started to be seriously fed up with them. She saw it was also annoying for the other men, some of them currently having their arms deep inside cows in labor, trying to get the babies out. She assigned Chaff for the injections and care for the little calves, because of his physical limitations and Cato was doing two jobs at a time, because apparently Marvel got so sick last night, he was unable to get out of bed without falling on his face. The cowboys were a pain in the ass today, especially Chaff, who seemed to start a different argument every five seconds. Katniss started to get seriously tired of it.

"Hey Cato, you said your truck was driving funny lately, maybe you should get it checked by Beetee later." Said Katniss, just to change the topic. Cato nodded a couple of times as he passed a freshly born calf into Chaff's waiting arms.

"Yeah, I probably should, it's nothing too serious, just the third gear is acting a little funny and it's pissing me off. Nothing that Beetee can't handle with his eyes closed," he added with a wink. Katniss smiled at him and he replied with one of those charming smiles plastered on his face.

"I could look at the car for you, boy if you weren't such a pain in the ass." Said Chaff with confidence causing Rory to roll his eyes and mumble "oh my God, here we go again," under his breath. Katniss sighed loudly sensing another argument in the air.

"Last time I let you check my jeep, you broke it even more and Beetee had to order some new parts." Stated Haymitch, causing everybody to chuckle.

"That ol' thing… it wasn't worth shit, it was already falling apart when you gave it to me to check it." Answered Chaff. "It's not my fault that you can't handle a car properly, so it doesn't fuckin' break." he added making Haymitch open his mouth to respond, but Katniss already had enough of this shit.

"Why don't you shut up Chaff, everybody is already tired of your attitude today." She said toward one of the eldest of her father's men. Chaff huffed and his face started to look like a ripe tomato.

"Who do you think you are, girl? You think you can talk to me like that? Your father was the one who hired me and…"

"And I will be the one who fires you if you don't calm down right now." She replied causing Chaff to stand up and start towards Katniss.

"Woah, woah, woah, what the hell Chaff?" Asked Haymitch as he immediately appeared at Katniss' side." Just relax before you do something that you're gonna regret," he added. Katniss' nostrils started to flare dangerously.

"What's happening in here?" Asked Gale as he appeared in the entrance, a basket of sandwiches in his hands. Katniss looked at him and sighed loudly trying to calm herself in the process.

"Nothing," she answered, her voice cold like Montana's winter evenings. "Chaff was just leaving to check the fences," she added, "everybody back to work."

"The hell I will." Rebutted Chaff, but this time it was Haymitch who stopped him with a cold stare.

"Do what she said Chaff, before she decides to fire your sorry ass for real." He advised. Chaff grumbled, took off his gloves and forcefully threw them onto the ground startling one of the calves. He kept grumbling all the way to the door and Katniss was sure he'd found a lot of not so pleasant names to call her. Gale looked at his younger sister and raised his eyebrows in a question, but the only answer he got was a shrug and an eye-roll. He shrugged back.

"So, who wants a sandwich?"

Oh, she was pissed off at Chaff, she was so pissed off she wanted to fire the old goat only to teach him a lesson, but she couldn't. She wasn't stupid and she knew that Chaff was one of the most experienced cowboys that worked for her. He was a pain in the ass most of the time, but also most of the time he was doing his job, and he was doing it well. Besides, with winter being in a full bloom and everything that was happening on the ranch, she couldn't afford to lose men. As much as her pride was telling her not to do that, she knew she had to apologize to Chaff. She also knew that if she didn't do that, the first thing she's going to see on her desk in the morning will be his resignation. She ripped off part of her sandwich and threw it to Fidget, who was running around like crazy and hiding under the hay stocks. She used her half an hour break to change her clothes, clean herself a bit and play with the dog. At this rate, they were going to have a few more hours of work left, but she felt like she had to sort this thing with Chaff immediately, before he starts to get any ideas. She knew she kind of humiliated him in front of the other men, but the truth was that she was aiming for that. She started to think she'd overused her power. She sighed and peeked into the barn.

"Hey boys, I'm gonna head down the fence and try to find Chaff. I think we have to have a little chat." She said towards the rest of the cowboys.

"Want me to go with you?" Asked Gale and she shook her head at the question. "No, I want to talk with him alone, and you're more needed here anyway." She answered making Gale nod.

"Don't let that old fuckard get on your nerves Katniss." Commented Cato and Katniss waved him off with a hand gesture and started to close the door again.

"Be careful out there," yelled Gale after her, but the only answer he got was Fidget's happy bark.

She was thinking about the conversation she needed to have with Chaff when she started the engine after putting Fidget on the passenger seat right next to her half-eaten meal. She wasn't really looking forward to this and she sighed loudly at the mare thought of apologizing to him.

It was a bit after three, but the sky was already starting to get dark. It was the beginning of December though, so it wasn't anything abnormal. Katniss looked at the red and orange clouds, that were now hanging low above the mountains and for some reason thought of Peeta. She only realized a few seconds later, that this warm, sunset orange was his favorite color.

She was fourteen and she had a bad day at school, because one of her worst school enemies, a girl named Glimmer, called her a "dirty cow shit cleaner" and told her she would never invite her for a party. She invited the whole school besides her. She was sad all day, even if she tried to never let anybody see those things affected her, but her brother knew her to well to not notice. He refused to go to the party in solidarity with his sister. She was sitting on the little pier on the lake that evening, being all grumpy and sad, when suddenly Peeta joined her out of the blue. She was surprised he didn't go to the party, but he only smiled when she voiced her bewilderment.

"Well, there was nobody there that I liked anyway." He explained making Katniss shake her head at this statement.

"You like everybody, Peeta." She answered making him chuckle and shake his head in denial.

"I try to be nice to everybody, but it doesn't mean I like them all. Glimmer for example, I'm not very fond of." He said and Katniss thought of the irony of it since Glimmer was one of the girls that could have basically every boy they wanted, but she wanted only Peeta. Katniss felt strange satisfaction that he wasn't interested. "I truly like only my friends and none of them is going to go," he continued. "Finnick is sick and I don't think his grandma would let him go anyway, Gale refused to go because he hates Glimmer probably more than anyone and you… you won't be there either." He replied, making Katniss look at him with surprise.

"I'm your friend?" She asked with wonder and he saddened a bit at the question.

"Are you not?" He asked and she immediately felt bad for making him look like a beaten puppy.

"I don't know. I always thought you and Finnick liked me only because Gale told you to like me." She answered making Peeta laugh wholeheartedly.

"Kitty," he addressed her still laughing, "Fin and I both liked you since the moment you were born." He admitted with a charming smile. "Fin treats you like you're his sister." He added and she looked up straight into his baby blue eyes.

"What about you?" She asked making him smile.

"I already have siblings and they annoy me more than any of my friends ever would, so I think I prefer if you stayed my friend." He replied and she giggled, something that very rarely happened to Katniss. "So… am I your friend?"

"You are." She admitted with a smile and he tugged on her braid teasingly. They stayed silent for a couple of moments.

"So now when we are friends, we should tell each other the deep stuff." He said, pretending to be deadly serious. Her eyes went wide.

"The deep stuff?" She asked. "I'm not good with sharing the deep stuff."

"Well that's a pity, because you know… I wanted to ask you what's your favorite color." He answered teasingly, she grinned.

"Now you stepped over the line." She rebutted, now being the one who pretended to be serious. He chuckled and she shoved him on the shoulder. "It's green." She added in passing and he nodded as if he already knew and only asked to tease her.

"Mine is orange." He admitted and she wrinkled her nose at the news.

"Like miss Effie's hair?" He shook his head with a chuckle.

"No," he denied with a laugh, "more warm, gentle and toned." He said, looked at the sun setting on the lake and pointed to it with a smile. "More like this."

She was so lost in her memories, that she never heard the horse galloping behind her jeep and only when Peeta's boot appeared in her side window, did she realize he caught up and now was riding alongside her jeep. She slowed the car, eventually getting to a stop, making Peeta jump off his horse and knock lightly on her window. She saw his smiling face before she even completely rolled it down.

"Hello pretty lady. What brings you here all alone?" He asked casually, but she knew he didn't like it when she was driving alone when it was already getting dark.

"Well sir, I'm with my loyal companion here," she replied pointing at Fidget, who true to his name started fidgeting on the passenger seat. He jumped on Katniss' lap when he saw Peeta and licked with favor his hand that rested on the opened window. "Besides… you're the one who's trespassing Mellark, it's Snow Rock's territory." She added and he chuckled reaching for Fidget to pat his head.

"'Sup pal?" He asked the dog as he scratched behind his ears. He chuckled at Fidget's trustfulness. "He's a real guardian that one, aren't you buddy?" he said looking at Katniss with raised eyebrows, never stopping to pet the little creature, "you would lick any bad guy to death, won't you," he added towards the dog. Katniss shook her head. "Hey," he stopped suddenly, looking at the passenger seat with interest," is that a sandwich I'm seeing?" He asked making Katniss feign a dramatic sigh. She reached for the second part of her meal and gave it to him with resignation. "God bless you, woman. You're a real angel." He commented and she rolled her eyes at that remark.

"Thank Sae, she made the sandwich," she replied but he shrugged. "I can thank her all right, but I would rather do that," he said stealing a quick kiss to her mouth, "to you." He finished with a wink. "So…" he started twirling around his finger a strand of hair that fell out of her braid, "when are you going to let me take you on that date?" He asked and she smiled a bit at that question.

"Friday night," she stated casually, causing him to rise his eyebrows, "just name the place." She added and he gave her one of his most charming smiles. "Have a good night, Mellark." She added and started the car before he even managed to protest.

She smiled to herself and then wandered, how come a simple conversation with Peeta, made her mood suddenly so much better. She laughed out loud at herself, thinking of how pathetic she started to act, but then slowed the car down, when she saw Chaff's jeep close by. She took a deep breath preparing herself for the unpleasant conversation as she wished she could be anywhere else, but here. She stopped her car, sighed loudly and shook her head when he didn't appear immediately. She was sure he was so pissed off he was going to make her beg for his forgiveness. She would never do that, even if it meant him handing her his resignation.

"Chaff, I came to talk to you, stop acting like a sulky teenage girl." She winced at her choice of words, if she wanted to get on his good side, insulting him, wasn't probably the best idea. She walked around the car and opened her mouth to call him again only to come to a sudden stop and make a barely audible whimpering sound at the sight in front of her. In a puddle of blood, there lay Chaff, or at least what was left of him. He was gutted and scalped and she took a step back, swayed on her feet, when she felt a little dizzy and threw up right next to the fence. She put her fingers through the fence holes as she held on it tightly, trying to get her stability back and she let out a one, pathetic sob, when she tried to breath.

"My God… oh my God…" She whimpered, not having enough of strength to look at Chaff again. She lived on a ranch, so she'd seen death and all kinds of disgusting things, but what she saw in front of her, was beyond anything she could ever imagine. She stumbled away from the fence, away from the body and noticed that Fidget started to whine miserably, still in the car, but now jumping around and acting like crazy. She made her way around the car, her legs feeling like jelly and she reached thought the driver's window trying to take the radio and call in for help, but she couldn't make a sound. She wasn't thinking much, she just put her hand on the horn and leant on it with her whole body weight.

His horse startled greatly at the sudden sound of the car horn and Peeta looked around with confusion, a strange panic overtaking him at the sound. He dug his heels into the horse's sides and gave him a command for a gallop as he made his way after the only car he saw that evening. Katniss' car.

His heart was beating furiously as he made his chestnut horse- Castor run faster than ever and he trembled slightly as the sound of the horn kept getting closer and closer only to come to a sudden stop.

He yelled her name in panic, but didn't meet any response and only when he finally saw her jeep in the distance, her leaning on the car while Fidget wiled miserably still trapped in the vehicle did he slow down a bit. Castor was still running when Peeta jumped off of him a few feet away from Katniss and reached her in two strides.

"Katniss!" He yelled her name and she jerked her head at the sound of his voice only to lose her balance at the sudden movement and slide down the car's body. Peeta was fast enough to jump forward and catch her before she hit the ground. "Kat!" He exclaimed as he held her in his arms. She wailed his name when she regained her footing and burrowed her head in his chest, something so uncharacteristic for her, that she caught him completely by surprise. He didn't need long to recover and wrap his arms completely around her. "Kitty," he said, now more calmly and gently. "Hey, look at me," he added. He slid his hands along her arms and to her neck, framing her face. "What happened, are you hurt?" He asked worriedly, frantically looking for any sign of an injury. He panicked as the only sound she could let out was another pathetic wail, but she shook her head in denial. He brought her towards his chest, shaken by her tears and overall state. She was trembling in his arms as he tried to shush her with gentle hands and noises. "Kitty, what happened? You are scaring me baby, talk to me." He said so gently that she barely heard him over Fidget's impatient wails.

"Oh my God, Peeta… oh my God…" was all she was able to say and he looked at her face again and rubbed her hair.

"It's okay, everything is fine," he tried to shush but she started to frantically shake her head.

"Nnno… no, look. There… bbbehind the car…" She stuttered, still shivering like a leaf in his arms.

"Ok," he stated, gently letting go of her. He leaned her against the car. "Ok, I'm gonna go look, just stay here… Quite Fidget!" He added towards the dog to calm his wails as he made his way around the car only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight in front of him. "Sweet Mother of God!" He exclaimed at the sight of the deformed body and he shivered violently as he realized that if it weren't for the lack of one hand, he wouldn't even be able to recognize the body of the man laying in front of him.

Katniss sobbed loudly at his exclamation and he backed away taking a few deep breaths to compose himself before returning to her. She clung back to him as soon as he was in her reach.

"Why?" She wailed into his chest and he wanted to sob himself at the sound of her voice. "Why? Who would do that to him, Peeta? Why?" She repeated as he held her tightly.

"I don't know… I have no idea, sweetie." He said and caught her as she again started to go limp in his arms. He opened the door to the car and seated her down on the driver's seat. Fidget started to jump around as soon as Katniss reappeared in his sight and Peeta need to give him three more commands to finally calm him down. Katniss jumped slightly and looked at Peeta with panicked eyes, suddenly out of the haze she was previously in. She made a move the stand up, but she was stopped by his strong hands placed on her shoulders.

"I need to… I have to ggo… cover… I need to cover him. He can't be like this, he…"

"You don't have to do anything except of sitting here now, Kitty," cut in Peeta, still trying to make her sit calmly.

"No… no he needs to be covered, he can't be like this…" She repeated making the young rancher crouch in front of her. He took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead, her eyes and finally laid a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I will do that. I promise. Just sit here with Fidget, okay?" He said quietly. She looked at him with those sad, teary eyes and nodded, making his heart clench. He kissed her forehead again and reached for the blanket that covered the back seat of her jeep. It would have to do for now.

Annie laughed loudly as Maggs, Fin's grandmother, kept showing her pictures of him as a little boy.
She liked every single one of them, but she got incredibly fond of one, that showed Finnick in his swim trunks, standing at the little pier by the lake and looking all cute like a cherub. She fell in love with that photo as soon as she saw it, just like she fell in love with Finnick the first time she laid her eyes on him.
Finnick rolled his eyes as Maggs passed to Annie one of his baby bath photos, with him in nothing but his birthday suit and Annie awed and chuckled at his discomfort. With a corner of her eye, she saw a picture that she pulled carefully from the pile and she smiled warmly as she saw the kids captured on the photo. Finnick returned her smile with a chuckle.

"Oh my, that's a real treat." He commented taking the photo form Annie's hand and shaking his head. Annie couldn't quite place where the photo was taken, but she took it back from Finnick and looked at it carefully. The three boys: Fin, Peeta and Gale, all with pure, sweet interest and amazement written all over their little faces, were bend over a crib with a beautiful little sleeping baby inside. It wasn't hard to guess that the baby was Katniss herself. Annie felt nostalgic at the sight of the photo and she hugged it tightly to her chest.

"Can I keep it?" She asked hesitantly. "I would return it soon, but I wanted to make copies and give one to Katniss, Peeta and Gale… I want to keep one as well and maybe Jo would too." She explained and Maggs smiled widely and nodded. Annie jumped slightly at the sound of Fin's radio coming to live and he paced his palm on her knee to calm her down.

"Fin, where are you?" He heard Peeta's voice coming from the speaker and he startled a bit at the sound of it. They knew each other since forever and he could read the panic from Peeta's voice as easily as an open book.

"Peeta? What's up? I'm at home with Gran and Annie," he replied, suddenly nervous himself. He heard an exhale and Peeta's voice calmed a bit.

"Take them to Snow's Mansion, please. We need you."

"Everything fine?" He asked, but as soon as the question left his lips, he knew it was a dumb one. Obviously something was really wrong. He looked at Annie and his Grandmother and could easily see that they too, looked worried. He squeezed Annie's knee under the table.

"No," he answered shortly and only after a couple of seconds of silence added, "but I'm with Katniss, we are fine and I contacted Gale and they are at home with Jo. Please join them." Finnick nodded, but only then realized that Peeta couldn't see him.

"We will be there in 20 minutes." He replied and opened his mouth, not really sure what to say next.

"It will take us a while, but we will join you." Replied Peeta, his voice sad and tired. "Fin?"

"Yeah?"

"I called my dad a few minutes ago and he's fine, as is Prim, Delly and Tony, but for some reason I can't reach Rye. Can you please try calling him until he picks up and confirms he's fine?" He asked and Finnick shivered at the question, sensing that the situation was really bad if Peeta was so afraid for everybody.

"Of course bro, but… what the hell happened?"

"Not now Fin, just please make sure you three are safely at the Manor. We've got a killer on the loose."

Peeta sat heavily on the leather couch in the living room of Snow's Manor and looked somberly at his companions before burrowing his face in his open palms. He felt a gentle but firm squeeze on his left shoulder and looked up to find Sae with concern written all over her face. He gave her a weak, but grateful smile.

"How is she?" She asked and Peeta sighed loudly and shook his head in response.

"Not so good Sae," he answered, his voice cracking a bit. "They made her go over it again and again, what seemed like a hundred times. She was so exhausted that in the end, she almost fell face down, even if she refused to go to sleep. I kind of had to force her." He answered and Sae shook her head at this sadly, but smirked and patted his cheek lightly.

"You are a good man, Peeta." She said and he nodded with thanks, squeezing her hand as she made her way towards the kitchen with a heavy sigh. Convincing Katniss to do what she didn't want to was always a hard work, but this time Peeta found out that it was surprisingly easy as she was so tired, the only thing he had to do was steer her towards her bedroom and gently shush her defiance. He stroked her head when it hit the pillow and kissed her forehead gently before getting up to leave, but her tired voice and a hand reaching for his in the darkness made him freeze in place.

"Stay with me." She whispered and his heart broke into million pieces seeing what the situation reduced her to. She feared getting to sleep and there was a very little things that Katniss Everdeen ever feared.

"Always." He whispered in response, but was almost sure she didn't hear him, already drifting off after the horrible day.

"Hey man, you okay?" Gales voice pulled him from his thoughts. He shook his head to clear it.

"Yeah, yeah. Just thinking." He replied and looked across the room at his older brother that stood next to the fireplace in deep thought. "You're sure everyone at home is okay, right Rye?" He spoke making the older Mellark turn his way.

"Yeah," he repeated for the fourth time that evening. "Worried, but fine." He added assuring Peeta once again.

"How's the other two?" Asked Haymitch referring to Katniss' sisters. He looked about five years older and ten times more tired than he usually did.

"Annie was hard to calm down, she believes it's her ex's doing and she feels responsible. It took a while to convince her otherwise, but she's asleep now." Answered Finnick and Haymitch nodded turning his head towards Gale. He startled a bit at the attention as all of the faces were now turned towards him.

"Jo's gonna be fine. She took three ambiens and was out like the light." He answered and dropped on the couch right next to Peeta. "What did the police say." He asked his best friend, but Peeta only shrugged in answer.

"Nothing to be honest. It was more us talking then them." He said obviously displeased with their methods. "I don't know guys, but I don't think I can do what they ask from us and lay the lives of our families and loved ones completely in their hands." He stated and met with Haymitch's nod of approval when he raised his head.

"The hell if the boy doesn't have a point." Commented to older cowboy. "I don't trust them Police nor our lovely sheriff," he stated with finality.

"I can approve that due to my job, but I'll pretend I've never heard this conversation." Stated Finn making Haymitch grin like a fool.

"Atta boy." He muttered under his breath.

"What do you propose, Peeta?" Asked Gale with his low, gruff voice and Peeta looked up with surprise.

"Me?" He asked with bewilderment, but Gale only shrugged, as if his question was perfectly reasonable. Peeta sighed.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "But I also don't know how much more of this Katniss is able to take." He added making Gale look at him sadly. "It hits us all, everything that's happening, but she's the one who's always the closes to it all. The dead animals, the accident." He said with a shake of his head. "She almost fucking died when she hit the tree that night!" He almost yelled. "And now this…"

"You didn't see her today, when she found Chaff… you didn't see what she saw, what we saw." He said with a shake of his head as if he tired to clear his mind of the terrible image. "It was the first time in my life that I've seen her so shaken she couldn't stand on her feet, the first time I've seen her sobbing like a baby and the first time I've seen her clinging to anybody for dear life out of pure fear." He explained and looked at Gale who listened to it all with utter horror written on his olive face.

"It's a good thing you've been there, boy." Said Haymitch with an uncharacteristic for him gentleness. "That girl thinks of you more than any of us and it's good you were the one who found her." He added, his statement surprising Peeta and making him speechless. He hoped Katniss had started to develop some feelings for him, but he would never expect words like that leaving Haymitch's mouth.

"The worst part is that she takes responsibility for it all and we all know it's bullshit. But it's eating her up… I can't stand watching her so pale and worried most of the damn time." Stated Gale with anger. "I can't get it into her stupid head that it's not her fault." He added with a sigh.

"We can't let any of them wander around alone anymore." Stated Finn, meaning all of the girls but Gale shook his head at this.

"Katniss would never allow this," stated Gale with resignation, but Peeta cut in angrily.

"The hell she will!" He growled, his fists clenching on his lap. "She will go with one of us at all time, even if I have to pull the supervisor thing to force her." He added with fire. "I don't think I can take seeing her again as I saw her today." He added, his voice breaking. "Leave her to me," he said looking around the room. "I will convince her." He stated, but looked towards his brother with a frown.

"Don't worry about the Three Meadows or about any of us," Rye replied his brother's unasked question. "The ranch can manage without its head for a while and I'll keep our family safe." He said looking straight into Peeta's eyes. "I promise."

"Well," Started Haymitch, startling the Mellark boys from their conversation. "I don't know how you intend to get into that girl's thick head, boy but by all means, God bless you on your mission."

|AN2|: So..? What do y'all think? Like it? Hate it? Let me know.

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)