A/N - Hi all, so thanks for still reading and for reviewing. Hope you continue to enjoy the story :)

The 19th Hunger Games – You Reap What You Sow

Part XII – You & I

Sam is looking at Quinn as the thin line of blood appears, stark against her pale skin. Her eyes widen a bit but there's no show of fear on her face even as she finally meets his gaze.

And it's then that he gets her message as her eyes connect with his before darting to where Rachel is standing. Even with her own life on the line, she wants him to protect Rachel. But before he can do anything, Rachel rushes forward, the word 'no' falling from her lips as her hands reach out. Only to have Finn grab her around her waist, easily lifting her off the ground and resuming the stand-off.

Dave expected more of a fight from Quinn when he cut her but apart from the sharp intake of breath when he first pressed down, there was no other reaction. He has to fight the urge to hurt her further only be cause he still does not have what he truly wants and by the look of it, Finn wasn't going to make it easy.

It does makes him smile though because unlike all of them, he has no qualms in killing anyone and he can see that Rachel gets it as she struggles against Finn's grip. She looks determined to get free, kicking out wildly and Dave is so looking forward to her trying to put up a fight with him.

Despite her small stature, Finn was actually having trouble hanging on to Rachel. She was determined to get out of his grip and possibly go to her death all because of Quinn. He understands a bit about loving someone so much that you'd be willing to lay down your life. His dad had done so and he wasn't far behind in following his footsteps. He loved his mom and brother and would do anything to ensure they were looked after.

So with his promise to Hiram, Finn knows that he will do everything to keep Rachel alive, not only sacrificing his own life but killing anyone who stood in his way. Even if it meant letting Dave take Quinn. Finn just tightens his hold on Rachel shifting his hands upwards as one crosses her upper chest and the other holds firmly onto her arms. He really does not want to hurt her but he knows that he may have to if she does not stop struggling. He sees Sam inching forward and hopes he has a plan to save Quinn.

All Rachel can focus on is to get to Quinn. Her eyes trail a drop of blood that wells from the cut that Dave has inflicted and it makes her want to do something, anything to stop him. Only Finn has her in such a tight grip that even her legs are off the ground. It's only when he shifts that she sees her chance and bends forward, her teeth finding purchase in the fleshy part of his palm, just below his thumb.

She bites down hard and Finn stumbles back, taking her down with him but at least he finally let's her go. Rachel scrambles to her feet and when she sees Dave smile in that sickening manner, she finally knows what she has to do as she reaches behind her to take out the serrated edged sword.

Quinn's trying to control her breathing and not move because her neck hurts and she has a feeling that Dave doesn't care and has no qualms in hurting her more especially if she said anything or tried to struggle. But it was difficult to not do anything when she saw Rachel struggling to get to her. She just hoped that Sam could think of something because if he didn't then she would start to fight with Dave and hope for the best.

But Rachel gets away first, her mouth covered with Finn's blood but it's what she does next that scares Quinn more than anything else. And it's the first time she shows her fear since Dave grabbed her. Her neck convulsing and the blade to her throat draws more blood.

"Let her go or I'm going to cut" She holds the nasty looking blade to her neck, her voice not wavering even if she feels the coldness of the steel against her throat. Dave just continues to smile, not really believing Rachel.

Finn is on his feet and steps towards her, only this time Rachel is ready as she takes a step back ands slowly pulls the blade across her throat. She can't really help the whimper from escaping her lips even as she feels her skin split open. The cut is shallow but it does bleed and she stops to stare at Dave. "Let her go and I'll come with you"

She sees that he's about to agree only Quinn finally

starts to struggle, Dave's knife nicking her throat but she still manages to shout at Rachel. "No" her voice desperate but Rachel does not listen as she keeps the blade to her throat, blood already coating the metal, her eyes wide and unblinking.

#$#$#$#$#

"what time is it?" Will's voice actually sounds as desperate as Quinn's as he looks at the timer. Hoping that it'll strike twelve and he can trigger one of Sue's surprises.

"Just a few minutes more" Sue's actually surprised at the amount of action on the first day. She remembers the third Games, watching it with her father and hearing him cheer on at the screen, marvelling at how many tributes died on the very first day. It was the only Games where sixteen tributes died before the day ended.

She looks at the tribute board and sees thirteen names listed as deceased. And she wonders if she should let more die tonight. Both Quinn and Rachel did seem hell bent on putting their lives on the line especially for each other that sooner or later one of them would die so maybe the more humane thing to do was to just let it happen now.

Except her eyes drift to the viewer numbers and like before, they're rising steadily. Not even the end of the first day and they're hitting numbers normally seen at the middle of the games where a few clear favourites were obvious.

The look of determination on Rachel's face coupled with Quinn's look of fear was ratings gold and Sue knows that she should at least prolong it if not for the viewers than for the fact that she grudgingly admires Quinn and right now Rachel as well.

"You can go with the water or the fire." She may admire them but it doesn't mean that she'll forgo her duty as Head Gamemaker as she gives Will the difficult choice. She really does feel like breaking the death record tonight and either choice would actually give her a chance to do so and at the same time stop the standoff between Rachel and Dave.

It would put all the remaining tributes in danger but that was the concept of the Games and despite what she felt, it was her job to make these Games a success so instead of waiting for Will who still looked a bit sick, she presses the button to initiate the first peril for these games.

#$#$#$#$#$#

Dave tightens his hold around her neck, cutting off her air supply but Quinn does not give up as she struggles even more, ignoring the pain because all she wants to do is to get to Rachel. She wasn't going to allow Rachel to sacrifice herself as she elbows Dave but it does not do much as she feels her vision begin to blur.

She hears a rushing in her ears and wonders if this is what it feels like to die, her lungs devoid of air now and black dots appearing behind her eyes. Quinn finally sags against Dave and just as she hears Rachel calling her name but she also hears Sam shouting "Water."

And that's when she hears the roar grow louder before she sees the wall of water rolling towards them. Quinn's always been comfortable with water, growing up by the ocean and learning to swim. The rolling waves and the sound of them crashing to shore always relaxed her. However, this roar of water is scary loud and she knows that unlike the ocean, this water is meant to kill.

It surprises Dave as much as any of them and she feels his hold slacken and she finally manages to wrench herself forward. Her legs stumbling but she manages to get to where she needs to as she reaches Rachel, her hand grabbing onto Rachel's, "Let it go, we need to" she doesn't get to finish as she feels the water crash over them and all she can feel is Rachel's hand in hers.

As soon as he had seen Quinn get free, Sam immediately turned to dive into the wall of water, knowing he needed to get his bearings in the water as quickly as possible before he could help anyone. He just hoped that Quinn was still lucid enough to help Rachel.

He was pretty sure that not all of them could swim and he's proven right when he sees Brittany flailing underwater, her eyes wide and panicked as she tries to find air. And when she opens her mouth and water enters, Sam can see he does not have much time as he kicks hard trying to get to her while avoiding the rocks and trees that he's been propelled towards.

The water turns murky quickly due to the sand and soil around but he has a pretty good idea of where Brittany was and reaches out and actually manages to grab hold of her hair. He pulls her forward and the fact that she does not struggle worries him but he does not think as he gets his own bearing and looks at the bubbles to see which was was up.

Rachel feels the water pull at her but she also feels Quinn's hand in hers and it's the one thing that allows her not to panic even though she feels her lungs straining and she feels claustrophobic, the water swirling around her and the fact that all the weapons and supplies was pulling her down.

Quinn relaxes her body, allowing the water to push her forward as she tries to swim around the tree trunks in her way. Her grip on Rachel is not as tight as she would like but at least she feels Rachel gripping back. She fights the urge to turn and look at her because she wants to get Rachel to safety before she checks on her injuries, the red cut across her neck still prominent in her mind.

Only she feels a tug and almost loses her grip and when she turns back, she sees Rachel sinking, pulling her down. And when she meets brown eyes, there's this understanding in them as Rachel loosens her fingers but Quinn refuses to let go. She shakes her head adamantly and kicks out with even more force to keep them both moving upwards.

Quinn refusing to pray or to ask God for help because she's afraid that it meant she was giving up and knew she couldn't save Rachel. So she does not think of her burning lungs or the deep ache she feels as rocks and branches hit out at her. All she focuses on is swimming up.

But the supplies attached to Rachel are heavy and even if she can see Rachel trying to kick as well, it's a losing battle as they both start to sink. Then as if by some miracle, she sees Sam swimming towards her, one arm around Brittany and the other cutting strong strokes through the water and towards them.

She feels him pull on her hand and finally can see the surface of the water, the bright moonlight acting like a beacon. The seconds it takes to break the surface feels like hours and the way she sucks air into her lungs almost makes her choke. But as soon as she does that, she focuses on Rachel. Her arm now across Rachel's chest, and the brunette's head lolling against her throat. "Rachel, love, answer me ok? let me hear that beautiful voice. Please..."

The heavy silence of the night now broken when she hears the distance boom signifying that the first day was finally over. She does not pay much attention to the subsequent shots fired signifying the number of tributes that had died because the only one she was worried about was currently in her arms. "Rachel, please." her lips find Rachel's cheek and all she feels is cold skin. "Sam." Her voice is laced with fear.

"I'm here." She looks towards the sound of his voice and sees him treading water a few feet away. "I don't know if Rachel's alive, we need.. To get.." She feels a sob build up within her and tries to swallow it, " we need to get to higher ground." The sob escaping at last even as she feels Sam's hand on Rachel's neck.

"I feel a pulse." He does not tell her that it feels weak, " There seems to be higher ground up ahead. Can you swim there?"

Quinn's not really sure she can even continue to tread water but Rachel was alive and she had made a promise so she nods.

"Hey, Sam?" Finn's voice cuts across the water, "Hey, are you guys ok? Do you know where the others are?"

"Quinn has Rachel and I have Brittany. Can you swim towards my voice?" Unlike Quinn, Sam had been listening to the death toll shots and he had counted fifteen. So if Finn had survived, there was a good chance that Dave had too.

"No, man, I can't." Finn's answer back is surprising.

"Are you hurt?" Sam lowers his voice, not wanting anyone else to know that they made it and knowing that they all needed time to recover before they were hit by something or someone else.

"No." Finn's voice also drops but this time because he's actually embarrassed. "I can't swim. I'm kind of stuck in this tree." Quinn can actually see Sam roll his eyes and she can't help her smile either. She also sees Sam look indecisive as if considering leaving Finn behind.

Only she remembers that Finn had tried to stop Rachel, he had tried to keep her from giving herself over to Dave and anyone who put Rachel's life above hers was someone she needed. She knows Sam won't pick Rachel over her but Finn definitely would. "You need to go and get him."

"Can you...are you sure you can make it to that ledge?" He points to a small ledge about twenty feet away. " If I go back for him, I don't think I can make it back here with both of them." Quinn sees that he's still holding on to Brittany.

"Best case is I spot something that we can swim to that's closer"

"And worse case?" Quinn feels pressure on her chest like she's about to lose Sam as well and there was nothing she could do.

"Hey, don't worry ok? Worse case is we spend the night on the tree with Finn and when we're all rested and it's daylight again, I'll swim over to you."

"Promise." Quinn knows that the odds of both of them dying were high but she just does not want to lose him tonight.

"I promise. You sure you can make it there with your girl?" It's not much that he can really do for them but he knows that at least they would be able to spend tonight together.

Quinn reaches out to touch his cheek before slowing swimming towards the ledge. Rachel's body feels like dead weight but she knows that Sam had felt her pulse and she just needs to find the strength to get them to the ledge and she would be able to tend to Rachel.

It takes her last remaining strength to push Rachel's body onto the outcrop, the first two times Rachel just rolled back down almost sending her underwater. And when she finally does it, she realises that she can't pull herself up, her arms not responding and her teeth chattering together because of the cold air and freezing water.

Rachel comes to, relatively slowly, each of her senses taking time to connect to each other. The feeling of coldness enveloping her entire being and the sound of harsh breaths followed by a soft sob. Then she blinks and sees the top of Quinn's head as she sinks downwards, her fingers gripping the side of the ledge, letting go.

And Rachel reacts faster than she thought she could, ignoring the absolute pain she feels throughout her body, each of her nerve endings screaming for her to stop but she does not as her hand reaches out to grab at Quinn's fingers.

her voice,barely a whisper but she gets the words out, "Quinn, don't you dare leave me." And like some miracle, Quinn actually listens as she resurfaces.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah. Now give me your hand." Rachel pulls as much as she can and Quinn does not give up as she tries to find a foothold.

"I've got you."

"I know." Her legs are still partly in the water and it's only when she sees Rachel's brown eyes open and looking at her does she get that they both made it. Her arms going around the brunette pulling her close.

Rachel can't believe they're both alive but she wasn't going to let this chance go either, knowing how close she had come to losing Quinn. "Don't ever do that."

Quinn can feel Rachel shivering and her own teeth was chattering so loudly that she almost misses Rachel's words. "Do what?"

"Try and kill yourself. You have to stay alive." Rachel can see a cut on Quinn's temple and she knows she has access to more medication so she reluctantly let's go of Quinn and tries to remember which compartment to open only Quinn stops her.

"Do you have a sheet or a cover?"

" Yeah, but you need medication."

"No, we need to get warm. Rachel, I'm ok and I wasn't trying to kill myself. I was...I was trying to save you." She reaches out to touch Rachel's hand, hoping that the girl wasn't going to pull away like before or worse yet, tell her that there was nothing between them.

"Yeah, well don't" Rachel tone a bit belligerent, as she bites the words out and Quinn actually finally gets it because Rachel won't meet her gaze and she remembers what Rachel had done when Dave had her in his grasp.

"Alright...but only if you don't either." Despite Rachel's hurtful words, everything she had done when Quinn had been in danger was in direct contradiction of what she had said and all her actions with Finn.

Rachel still can't bring herself to look at Quinn and its only when she feels Quinn's finger slowly lifting her chin does her gaze lock on to hazel eyes. but it's the kiss that warms her more than anything.

Soft lips on hers, Quinn's fingers in her hair and that pull she feels to connect with this girl, to open herself up and just be. All the hurt and coldness melts away, leaving a yearning so strong that her fingers shake as she opens the zipper to the compartment with the reflective sheet.

Quinn is already a step ahead as she removes her shirt and pulls at Rachel's pants. Her own clothes so easy to discard but not Rachel's. it's then that she realises how cruel the Games have been to Rachel. Her clothes almost fused to her body, all the compartments and weapons linked to her in some way such that her pants only go down to her knees and no further and Quinn's fingers are cut on the thin wires attached to Rachel's back.

"What have they done.." Quinn can't help her tears now. "Rachel.."

"Don't..just kiss me..please." And it's not a plea Quinn can ignore nor does she think of anything else as she pulls Rachel down on top of her, draping the sheet over them and giving in to what the both of them need.

#$#$#$#$

"Keep the cameras on the boys." Will rubs the back of his neck before turning to look at Shelby who had come in about ten minutes ago. She had seen Quinn save Rachel and her daughter return the favour. And he had been so tempted to keep the cameras on them. Their love for each other so clear even if he had cut away the second Quinn had been pulled onto the ledge.

"Then find the other tributes and show where they are before ending transmission and running the scenes of each tribute's death." He sees Shelby nod to him and knows she wants to talk.

Just to be safe, he does not approach her until he sees the other Gamemakers busy with his instructions and note that Sue had already gone to her chambers.

"What do you want?" His tone is not rude but just tired.

"Does she have a chance?"

Will truly wants to say yes, to tell Shelby that Rachel can win this but he knows Dave is still alive and so were tributes from 11, 3 and 9. Anyone of them could kill her and so could the boy from 4. "She survived today."

"The water,you...thank you." Shelby knows that it could have killed Rachel but it also gave her a chance to get away from Dave. All she needed was to ensure Rachel survived the next few days and then she hoped that her plan would work.

"Don't thank me. everything here and there.." Will points to the screen, "All of it is designed to kill."He wishes it were different but there was no way that they could make it so. they were a part of the system and the system meant that the Games had to be played until only one winner stood up. And because Rachel loved Quinn and Quinn loved her, they just wouldn't survive each others deaths. "I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do."

Shelby does not say anything as she watches Will leave the room. She wants to shout and tell him that he's wrong because anyone who had seen Rachel's determined face could see that she could live if she wanted to and after today, Shelby understands that in order for that to happen, she needed to also find a way to keep Quinn alive as well.

End Part 12