Disclaimer: The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, two of the best books I've ever read, are owned by Suzanne Collins and I don't have any rights to them except the right to read them and love them. This is a companion fic to Firestarter.

Chapter Thirteen

Madge's POV

My father squeezes my hand as I follow Gale and Commander Vanzant out of the common room. I have to wonder what I just signed up for. We came downstairs to meet with Mayor Snow. We learned that the Capitol, or Mayor Snow's evil brother President Snow, have been spreading rumors that Katniss and the others were no longer fighting. So they were planning on broadcasting to everyone in the Capitol that they are still fighting the good fight.

Meanwhile, for those of us who aren't Victors (and believe me, I'm thanking every lucky star that is a title I haven't had to fight for) have nothing to do. Well, we have nothing to do except sign up to fight for the cause. Of course, Gale being Gale has already volunteered. I had hoped when Katniss had mentioned his family that he wouldn't have volunteered. But he had. And, of course, I can't stand by and do nothing. The Capitol has taken away- No, let me rephrase: they have destroyed our home. However, as I learned in the woods when we were running from the Capitol forces, I can take a life but I would prefer not to. I haven't let myself think about it, but there are people who are not living on because of me. I would much rather assist in helping keeping our guys alive then killing theirs.

We go to a different wing of the Justice Building. This must be the military end where we were before. I see a lot of uniformed people milling about. Of course, Gale and I are in Freeland black, but the uniforms are slightly different. People have name tags and ranks. Finally, she enters an office and we follow her in. Behind the desk is an older man with short curly red hair with white streaks near his temples. He looks up as we enter. His mustache is military ruler straight and a mixture of red and white. Bottle green eyes look at us from behind wire rimmed glasses. "Commander?" he asks her in question.

She gestures at us. "New recruits, Sir," she answers and I see that she stands up straighter. I try to mirror her stance as I look back at the gentleman behind the desk.

He looks us over. "Are these some of the ones who assisted you in the rescue mission?" he asked. His eyes have narrowed as they studied Gale beside me.

"Yes, Sir," she answers. "This is Gale Hawthorne and Madge Undersee from District 12. Madge would like to join our medic team." I try not to let the surprise show that she has remembered our names. But, then, I guess I shouldn't be. She struck me as highly intelligent and intuitive during the rescue mission. The man behind the desk nods his head.

"What of the others?" he asks.

"They will join after they have finished filming their news announcement."

"Very well. Hawthorne and Undersee will enter as corporals under you. You are to make sure they receive training, and fast, Commander. Unfortunately, I see this thing coming to a head very quickly and we'll need all the help we can get." His eyes took us in again and I think I see a flash of pity in his eyes. "Are you sure you're old enough to handle this?"

"Sir," Gale stated, "we've seen our home destroyed. We've gone to the Capitol with your military and were able to get back alive and help others to do so. I believe we can handle this."

A twinkle could be seen in the man's eyes. "And do you believe you can take a life?"

"We already have, sir," I answer. "However, it is my intent to make sure that our guys live." He seemed to measure us again and then nodded his head.

"You are dismissed, Commander. Take these two Corporals to basic." He looked back at the commander expectantly.

"Yes, Sir," she answered before saluting and leaving the room. We walked a few more doors down and came to a large room. It looked to be a training center of sorts. There were different stations all around the room but in the back was a large crowd of people cheering. I looked at the commander and saw her amused smile. "This way," she ordered us as we went to an office off of the training center. She sat down behind the desk and waved to the desk. "Fill out these papers," she told us as she gave us each a clipboard and pen. Gale and I bent to the task but we couldn't help but wonder what all the cheering was about. When we were through, she had just finished making us nametags.

"Alright, here you go," she said handing them to us. "Now, we need to give you a crash course in training. Usually, you would go through about three months of classes, PT tests and something we like to call hell week." The last was said with a devious smile and I swallowed hard. I think I could do without the hell week, thank you very much. "First thing to know, always follow orders." I nod. I can't help the nerves that are spreading throughout me.

I look over at Gale and I see he's hanging onto her every word. He looks over to me and his eyes are that calm grey again. I feel my heart slow down from its frantic race. I look back at the Commander. I feel steadier. "Alright, well I can see that the both of you want to see what is going on out there." We stand up with her and we walk out into the training center. All of the other stations have been deserted as we walk across to the crowd in front of us. Some turn to look at us and they stand straighter as the Commander walks through the crowd. It parts for her and we follow.

In front of us, we see Kane, her second in command, and another man in hand to hand combat on a blue mat. I thought Kane was tall and dark, but I can't help the appreciation I feel for the man he is currently fighting. The other man, also with dark black hair and eyes somewhere between blue and gray, blocks a powerful punch by wrapping his hand around Kane's fist and lifting him over his shoulder and onto Kane's back. He comes down on his knee with a fast punch to Kane's face only to stop at the last second. "Yield?" he asked in a musical accent I've never heard before.

Kane grinned. "I yield, damn it." The other man grinned and reached down to help Kane up. The muscles in his arm rippled as he pulled Kane up. I see that they are about the same height. Then his eyes look around the crowd and look at Gale and I curiously. He's got the same soul searching look that Gale has and I can't help but feel just a tad bit breathless. I notice a dimple winking on the right side of his mouth. I hear a few women in the crowd sigh and it makes me smile.

I look over at Gale to see what he thinks of the reaction and he's looking at me with a slight frown on his face. "What?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Nothing," he replies and looks away but I see the little muscle in his jaw ticking away.

"Fresh meat?" the man asks as he looks at Gale and me.

"New recruits," the Commander corrected. "Go easy on them, Shaw. It's the first day."

A devilish grin took over his features and I hear another collective sigh through the females in the room. "My pleasure," he said in his deep baritone with his unusual accent.

"Don't all of you have something you should be doing?" the Commander asked with her voice raised. The crowd dispersed leaving just Gale, the commander, Shaw, Kane and me. "I leave them in your capable hands." She and Kane walk away.

"Well, as she said my name is Shaw. And my specialty, as it were, is hand to hand combat." My eyes involuntarily take a look at his very capable hands. They were big and long. I look back into his eyes and I see he is looking at Gale with an amused smile on his face. "Care to have a go?" he asks softly.

I look at Gale and I can see the usual anger and rage on his face that he had worn back in District 12 after he had been whipped. This can't be good. "Yes," Gale says.

"Gale," I start to say but one angry look from him has me shutting my mouth.

The two circle one another on the mat and my heart speeds up in adrenaline. I feel like a helpless maiden on the sideline while two warriors fight. I roll my eyes at my own foolishness. Gale is tall and lean while Shaw is tall and wide. Every which way he turns, muscles ripple. My throat goes dry at the thought of what those muscles could do against Gale. Not that Gale is a string bean, of course. He's got what I think of as long muscles. I see them rippling under his black shirt just as I see Shaw's. And then, suddenly, Shaw springs. I hold my breath as Gale swiftly side steps and Shaw turns on his heel. "You're fast," Shaw tells Gale.

But Gale just shrugs his shoulders. I can't help but think of the predator cats that the Capitol has sometimes used in their games. They were muttations, but they stalked their prey quietly and maliciously. Their eyes would never waver just as Gale's eyes were not wavering now. When Shaw moved again, Gale went low with a punch to the gut. I felt the air from Shaw's lungs whoosh over me as he was brought to his knees. Silence rang throughout the training center as other people stopped to see what has happened. I can see from their shocked expressions that they have rarely seen Shaw in such a state.

Then Shaw raised his blue gray eyes, and I could tell the battle was not over. With a swift round kick while he was on his knee, Gale went falling onto his back. Both of them sprang up and started to circle again, though I could tell the amusement was no longer in Shaw's eyes. Why oh why did Gale have to tick him off? They flew at each other and were immediately locked in long arms and bracing against each other as they tried to get a good position. Shaw went for a punch and then Gale used the very same maneuver that Shaw had used on Kane. He grabbed Shaw's wrist and hoisted him over his head and then onto Shaw's back. He came down with a fist that stopped a hair's breath away from the tip of Shaw's nose. "Yield?" Gale asked in a dangerously soft voice.

My heart was pounding. Who would have thought Gale had it in him? "I yield," Shaw said. Gale fell back and helped him out. Then Shaw patted him on the back with a hand that must have weighed as much as a tree trunk. Then he threw back his head and laughed. "I'll be damned, kid. You're a quick study."

Gale's answering grin was quick as lightening under the praise. Then it was wiped away as Shaw turned his gaze onto me. "And how about you?"

"I, uh, do better with a gun," I answered. My mouth had gone dry as dust again.

He shook his head. "And what will you do if you have no gun, little lady?"

I squared my shoulders at that. "Have you teach me what to do," I told him.

He threw his head back again. "Oh, this is going to be fun," he stated while his eyes danced with humor. Then he let Gale go and grabbed me. His hands were definitely as strong as they looked as he put me in a stance. "Why don't you go to a different training center for now, Hawthorne?" Shaw asked as he took one glance at Gale's nametag and then looked back to me.

I looked over at Shaw's shoulder to see the angry gaze was back. He looked like he was going to say something but I shook my head. Always follow orders, I mouthed to him. I saw his pained look before he stalked away. I let loose a breath and tried valiantly to listen to Shaw's lessons. After about an hour, I knew how to throw a real punch and be able to block the same from someone else. I also knew how to break a man's arm, his knee caps, and how to shove a man's nose into his brain, though I didn't think I would be using this one as it would most certainly cause someone's death. Within the next hour, Shaw and I had perfected a dance of sorts and others were watching us once again. I did not for one moment take my gaze from him. I started to be able to tell when he was going to make a move to a certain spot as his eyes would go there a second before his hands or feet. He'd advance and I would dodge. He would feint one way, and I would go to the other to get a shot in. Sweat was dripping in my eyes. I hear a slight commotion but my eyes didn't waver from Shaw's. His, however, strayed for just a moment and I was able to sweep my leg under his as he did earlier with Gale. As he went down, I grabbed his arm, flipped him on his stomach, and twisted it behind him. "Yield?" I asked.

"Damn it, I think I will, Undersee," I heard him rasp out. I let him go and backed up. The crowd burst out into applause. I looked around and saw Gale studying me with his steady gray gaze again. I smiled triumphantly and I could see just a corner of his mouth quirk up a bit. My eyes continued around and I could see that the others have joined us. The Commander came up behind them.

"Very well done, Undersee," she told me. "Please follow me," she told me and I followed her away from the others.

"I'll be looking forward to a rematch, Undersee," I heard Shaw call out from behind us and I raised my hand in acknowledgement. I heard his laugh ring out across the center as Vanzant and I walked out. She was walking towards the medical part of the building where Gale and I had been before. When we entered, I saw the same smiling doctor from before. "Dr. Franklin," I heard Vanzant greet her. "Here is your charge, Madge Undersee." The woman had curly brown hair and golden brown eyes. "Undersee," Vanzant said to me, "you will train in the training center for four hours a day starting at eight in the morning. You will take a break and then report to Dr. Franklin each day at one in the afternoon and study with her for four more hours. Each day, you will report to me by no later than five-thirty pm." Then she excused herself and left.

Dr. Franklin looked at me and grinned. "You look like you've been training hard."

I grinned. "Yes, Ma'am."

She smiled. "Well, go get a shower, get something to eat, and report back to me in an hour. Then we'll start on your knowledge of first aid."

"Thank you, Doctor," I tell her before I leave the room. I navigate my way through the halls. I notice footsteps behind me and I stop and turn. I see Gale walking fast in my direction. "Hey," I tell him.

"Are you okay?" he asks me as he stands in front of me.

My eyebrows draw together in a frown. "Yes, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I ask.

"You took a few punches," he told me.

Then a smile blooms across my face. Is he worried about me? "Yes, I did."

"I didn't know you at all, did I?" he murmurs as he studies me intently.

My smile fades as his eyes take in all the features on my face. "What do you mean?" I ask him quietly.

His hand seems to move slowly as it plays with the ends of my braid that is hanging over my shoulder. "You're a long way from the girl in the pretty white dress," he says softly.

I realize that there isn't even a foot between us. My heartbeat speeds up as his eyes look into mine. I think I may have forgotten to breathe. "Who?" I ask dreamily. And then I can't stop myself. He smells of sweat and pine scented soap. It's more than I can bear. I rise up on my tip toes and I press my lips to his. He stands still as I wrap my arms around his neck. And then, suddenly, I feel his hands on my shoulders as he pulls me closer. My eyes drift closed as he takes the kiss deeper. Abruptly, he curses as he pushes me from him and stalks away.

I lean back against the wall and watch him walk away as I catch my breath. I press the heel of my hand against my thudding heart. I slowly start to make my way towards the dormitory. I can't help the smile that moves across my face. I'm getting to him.

A/N: You know what to do… Please leave a review.