[A/N: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! You guys keep me writing.]

Chapter 11: The Truth In The Lie

"Johanna Mason." I said, shock registering in my voice. I'd nearly called her "Johanna Hawthorne" but had luckily stopped myself on time.

"Oh good, you know who I am, and I know who you are, we're practically best buddies. You going to let me in now or are you just going to stand there looking surprised all day?" Young Johanna said, her voice dripping with sarcasm and her face contorting into a smirk.

How did she know my real surname? I suppose she could have just heard that I was related to Peeta and guessed that my surname was Mellark like his. I had told everybody I was his cousin after all? No; the knowing expression on her face told me she was a lot closer to the truth than that. There was only one way to find out for sure how much she knew.

"Please come in," I said in what I hoped was a civil voice. She stepped into my small room and raked her eyes over my few possessions.

"Aren't you a little old for a teddy bear?" She asked me, laughing cruelly, as her eyes fell upon Dylan's teddy.

"It has sentimental value," I said defensively, picking the teddy up and cuddling it to my chest. It still smelt of my little brother, and that helped to calm me down a bit. Dylan was always so serene and polite. I tried to channel him now as I faced this stranger who was trying to ruin my plans to save those I loved.

"Let's cut to the chase shall we?" I asked Johanna. "What do you know about me?"

She laid down on my bed, appearing totally at ease and smirked. She was clearly enjoying having this power over me.

"I know that you're from the future. I know that you're Peeta and Katniss' daughter. And I know that somehow that mess up with the screen down in the main hall was your fault."

"How?" I asked her, shocked and more than a little upset. I thought I'd been doing so well.

"Science doesn't lie sweetie," she said, pulling something out of her pocket. It was a folded piece of paper, with the stamp of the District 13 medical unit on the top. It was my medical report. It detailed my injuries and the medicine used to treat me. Then I saw it; in a bottom corner of the paper was a section entitled "blood test results". Underneath my blood type were written the words:

Direct relatives: Mellark, Peeta and Everdeen, Katniss.

Of course; I remembered a blood test being one of the many tests Prim had done on me when I arrived here. I just hadn't thought about the implications of it at the time; I'd been in too much pain.

"Of course you could have been their sister, but I got curious and checked their medical records; they're not in any way related to each other. And for you to be listed as a direct relative you'd have to be either their sibling, their parent, or their child." Johanna looked smug, and I couldn't blame her. I'd only been here a couple of days and she'd already guessed my secret. "Oh, also, Trident is the worst fake surname I've heard in my life." She added condescendingly.

"Who else has seen this?" I asked her.

"Nobody," she said.

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Here in dear old District 13 they put your blood sample into a machine which displays your results on the screen then prints them out on a copy of your medical report. You auntie Prim," I ignored the sneering way she said the word "auntie", "put your blood in then left the room for a minute. I was recovering in the bed next to the screen and saw the results. So I stole the print out and deleted the file on the computer."

I was gobsmacked. Why had this woman done something to help me? She didn't even know me!

"Why would you do that for me?" I asked her softly, suddenly feeling a lot warmer towards the woman in front of me.

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for Katniss. She's sacrificed a lot to guarantee us victors immunity when the war ends, so I owe her. I figured by protecting your secret I was protecting her too."

"Thank you," I said sincerely, throwing my arms around her to hug her. This woman had helped me on my quest to save my baby brother.

Apparently Johanna wasn't the hugging type as she made a strange hissing noise and pushed me away. Whatever, I was still grateful to her.

"Don't touch me," she said, coolly.

"Ok."

"Now, I wanted to ask you some questions about that thing with Beetee's signal."

I thought this over. She already knew so much that telling her a little bit more didn't seem that bad.

"I'll answer your questions as long as you promise to keep everything said in this room secret."

"I don't betray people's trust Molly. I have principles."

"But what if I told you a secret about a friend of yours? Would you be able to keep it from them."

Johanna burst out laughing. "Sweetie, I don't have friends."

I remembered what Haymitch had told me: she won't stab you in the back.

I decided that I trusted her.

"What do you want to know?"

"Do you know Taylor Hawthorne?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"We've been friends since we were kids."

"You sure you're not more than friends sweetie? You've been blushing since I said his name." She said suggestively.

"We're just close friends." I said honestly. Regardless of how I felt about Taylor I was pretty sure he didn't feel the same way about me; he saw me as a little sister. He always had done.

"Is Taylor related to Gale?"

"Yes, he's his son." I conveniently left out the part about Taylor being her son too; I couldn't tell her everything. That could change the way her relationship with Gale panned out.

"And he's going into the Hunger Games?" Her tone softened when she said this.

"Yes," I replied, my voice a whisper. "Along with my little brother."

"Wow Gale's son and Katniss' son in the arena together. That totally isn't fixed," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "So we don't get rid of them in the future then, the Hunger Games that is?"

"No, you along with a few other people vote on whether or not to have one with Capitol children. The verdict is "yes" and the future government use this to justify reinstating the Hunger Games for the districts."

It suddenly occurred to me that all I had to do to end the Hunger Games forever was to convince Johanna to vote against it.

"So you came back in time to change the vote?" She asked me. She was smart.

"Yes," I said. "Johanna the yeses only won by one vote. If you vote against it then I'll have done what I came here to do and Taylor will be safe!"

"I'll do it, I'll vote against it. Katniss and Gale are good people they don't deserve to suffer that."

I noticed that she didn't say anything about me being a good person or wanting to help me. I got the impression she didn't like me very much.

"That's brilliant!" I exclaimed.

She looked a little frightened by my enthusiasm and joy (she probably thought I was going to hug her again) so she said goodnight and left.

I wondered what happened now. In theory the future should have changed; I should be able to open that compact and see a world without Hunger Games. I could go home. I had mixed feelings about that; part of me was ecstatic and desperate to get back to my loved ones, but part of me felt uneasy. I wanted to stay and save Prim. Maybe I still could.

I carefully lifted the lid on the compact, expecting to see Taylor's face beaming back at me, from his own bedroom in his own house.

I was obviously very disappointed when the compact was opened by a very disgruntled Laurel.

"Can I speak to Taylor please?" I asked her, excitement building in my stomach at the prospect of seeing him again.

She looked confused and angry. "What are you, thick? He's in the HUNGER GAMES! Remember? With your LITTLE BROTHER! So no, you can't speak to him." She slammed the compact shut angrily.

It hadn't worked. How hadn't it worked? If Johanna voted no, and I truly believed she would now, then that was a majority against it. Haymitch had said that would stop the Hunger Games. I lay awake puzzling the issue in my mind for a long time before I fell into a disturbed sleep.

I was woken by the sound of somebody rapping on my door. It turned out to be Gale Hawthorne. He looked devastated and for one terrible moment I thought Johanna had told him that his son was in the Hunger Games. But in the pit of my stomach I knew she wouldn't betray my trust.

"Goodness Gale, who died?" I asked him jokingly, trying to lighten his sullen mood.

"Beetee," he said. "Beetee died."

"W-what?"

"He was really concerned about his equipment messing up so he spent the night playing around with the wiring. He electrocuted himself."

I froze. I'd killed Beetee. Not directly of course, but still I was partially responsible for his death. I felt like I was underwater as a wave of guilt swept over me and dragged me down. Gale was still speaking but I couldn't make out what he was saying. That was why Johanna's vote changing had meant nothing; Beetee had voted no. Now there would be Johanna, Peeta and Annie voting "no" and Katniss, Haymitch and Enobaria voting "yes". It would be deadlocked. And Haymitch had warned me that in the case of a deadlock the Mockingjay's vote would carry the most weight; that's why I'd originally focused on Katniss. Once again, I'd failed. At least now I had an excuse to stay and save Prim . . .

"Molly." Gale was waving his hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention.

"What?" I asked.

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"No."

"You've got a special assignment today; you're not going to be training. You're going to be trying to jog your cousin's memories."

I stared at him blankly for a moment. Cousin? What cousin?

He looked at me quizzically and clarified. "You're going to be spending the day with Peeta Mellark."

Oh, that cousin.

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