A/N: I'm getting a bit of a late start this Sunday because my husband and I stayed up WAY too late last night and I overslept this morning. First of all, I apologize for the cliffhanger last chapter. The truth is that I love writing them and even though I pout and complain when other writers do it to me, I understand why they do it. I don't think that there's another cliffhanger like that for the rest of the story, but I could be wrong. If there is, I"m sorry in advance. Okay, once again, I really want to thank each and every person who took the time to review. If this story gets 43 more reviews, then I'll post the next bonus chapter. If not, then it'll just have to wait until next Saturday.

Good news! I finished the penultimate chapter of the story last night, so as soon as I am done updating and publishing this chapter, I'm going to start writing the final chapter. Hopefully that will put all those fears to rest about this story remaining unfinished.

Also: Completely random, sometimes I think we, as a fanfiction community, should vote on the unofficial names of certain characters. Sort of like how it's almost accepted that Peeta's middle brother is named Rye (which I f'n love). Anyway, I'm rambling because I'm a little overtired and haven't had my morning jolt of caffeine yet.

And I think a lot of people are going to be very pleased with this chapter. Well, I hope so.

Chapter 14
The Boy, the Hero

It takes me a few second to realize the Cato wasn't talking to Peeta. Reluctantly, I turn my full attention to the middle screen to see the four Careers at the base of a large tree, looking up at it.

"Come on down, Eleven," Marvel shouts up. "Make this easy for us and I promise you won't suffer… much."

The shot shifts upward and I can see Rue perched up on one of the highest branches of the tree. She doesn't seem even remotely tempted to take Marvel up on his not-so-generous offer.

Cato kicks at the trunk with all his strength, but the tree doesn't even move. "She's not coming down!"

"Maybe she can't," the girl from 4 reasons. "Sometimes stupid animals get so scared that the climb up something that they suddenly can't get down from."

"So climb up there and get her!" Cato commands.

"Now?" She shakes her head at him. "It's too dark, I wouldn't be able to see what I was doing."

"Then you go, Glimmer," he says, turning to the other female.

"No way. If you're so eager to get her, climb up there yourself," Glimmer tells him, crossing her arms over her chest.

Cato seethes, "So, what? We just leave her be and go back to camp because you don't want to climb a tree?"

Marvel jumps in, "No. We'll camp here for the night, making sure she can't escape; and in the morning, one of the girls can go up there and fetch her."

Even Cato has to admit that Marvel's plan is sound and the four of them settle down for the night, with the girl from 4 taking the first watch.

I'm so engrossed by the plight of poor little Rue, that I almost miss Peeta peeking out of his hiding place. It is obvious by the look on his face that he is aware of the situation. His eyes lift up to the tree, searching for the little girl. I don't know if he finds her, but from the middle screen I can see that she definitely finds him. The smile that breaks out through her hopeless expression is heartbreaking. In that moment, she reminds me so much of Prim that it physically hurts. I have to remind myself that the little girl in the tree is not my sister; that Prim is safe at home with my mother. It doesn't exactly make me feel any better.

"She thinks he's going to try to save her," I say to Haymitch.

Haymitch sighs. "And by the look on his face, I think that Peeta's not going to prove her wrong."

I turn to him. "No, Peeta's not stupid. Yeah, he saved her once, but that was only because he had the opportunity to do it. Doing anything but getting out of there right now would be nothing short of suicide."

"Katniss," he stops and I can see the wheels in his head turning. "He's not going to run. Look, he's going back in there."

"Why?" I ask and I hate how my voice cracks in the middle of the word. "Why is he doing this?"

"Because he's a good guy, Sweetheart," he tells me and there's something unrecognizable in his tone. "And he has managed to somehow keep that part of himself in that hell hole."

"He told me that he didn't want to change who he was for the sake of surviving," I recalled, my throat burning at the thought of what he said next. "He said he'd be fine if he died as himself."

"I know that you don't want to hear this," Haymitch says. "But that's a very admirable quality."

"I don't want to admire him!" I shout, taking out my frustration with Peeta on Haymitch. "I want him to get out of there unharmed! He told me that he loved me, so why isn't he trying his hardest to come back to me?"

"I don't know, Sweetheart."

We are quiet for a while, the gloom of the situation making it difficult to talk. There are no pictures tonight as everyone managed to survive the day. The promise of Rue's death in the morning was apparently enough to avoid the need for the Gamemakers to step in and help ward off the boredom.

At some point, Johanna pops back in and I know by the look on her face that she's concerned for me. I can't stand the way that Haymitch and her keep shooting worried looks in my direction.

"I'm going to bed," I announce, not being able to be in that room with them for one second longer.

I go into the room and climb into the bed. I am far more depressed than anxious about the events that will transpire tomorrow. I know that Peeta will somehow endanger himself in a harebrained scheme to help Rue survive and I'm convinced that it won't end well for him.

I don't expect to fall asleep but I guess my emotional exhaustion wins out and I fall into unconsciousness.

I wake up with a start; my heart racing and sweat on my forehead. I swallow hard to keep the bile from rising up in my throat. This nightmare had been particularly bad and I knew that it would not be the last time I would see it. I witnessed Peeta die hundreds of times in hundreds of way. Each time he looked at me (when he still had eyes, of course) and asked me why I couldn't save him. And each time the only thing I could do was offer him a weak apology.

The bed is damp from my perspiration and uncomfortably warm now and I have no desire to be in it for a moment longer than necessary. I quickly make my way to the viewing room, to find Johanna and Haymitch watching the screens silently.

I don't even bother asking if I missed anything, because I know I would have been awoken if there had been an issue. Instead, I settle into the chair that Johanna vacates and stare at the left screen, wishing that Peeta wasn't hiding so I could look upon his beautiful face one last time before he sacrificed himself for the girl who was probably going to die soon after.

"He hasn't slept all night," Johanna informs me. "Every so often, he pops his head out of there and makes sure that the situation hasn't changed."

I don't even acknowledge that she spoke to me. She must be really concerned about me, because she actually lets that slide. Usually she would've ripped me a new one for less than that.

Thankfully, both Haymitch and Johanna get the hint and we sit in silence until the first rays of light begin peeking over the horizon. That's when Cato stands up and starts poking his sleeping companions with his foot.

"Wake up," he whispers harshly. "Come on, get up!"

"What's going on?" Glimmer asks, rubbing her eyes.

"Quiet," he shushes her. "We don't want to wake her up, now."

Yes, I think, keep your voices down. Maybe if the Careers are quiet enough, they won't alert Peeta to the fact that the attack is going down now.

Cato moves behind the girl from District 4 and pushes her towards the tree. "Climb," he commands."

"Why do I have to do it?" She doesn't seem too thrilled with the prospect of going up after Rue.

"Because I told you so," Cato says.

"But I don't want to," she tells him. "Besides, I still think that climbing up there is a bad idea."

"Oh, for crying out loud," Glimmer says in annoyance, making her way to the tree. "I'll do it, then."

It is obvious that Glimmer doesn't have the experience that I do when it comes to trees. She is careful and takes her time, and she manages to get a little over halfway up the tree before the first snap of a branch makes her stop.

"I don't think I can go any higher," she calls down, loud enough to make sure that they heard her.

I see that the Careers weren't the only ones that did, when Rue perks up in her perch. In the light of dawn, I can see her face clearly in the tree. She looks down at her pursuer and panic reads all over her face.

"Don't stop! You're nearly at her," Marvel shouts up to his district partner. He's exaggerating, of course, as Glimmer has quite a bit more to climb before she can reach Rue.

She looks up to where Rue's at and her voice wavers, "I don't know if I can. I think I'm too heavy."

"You're fine," the girl from District 4 says from the base of the tree. "So stop whining and keep going!"

"No, I think I'm gonna come down," she says.

"If you get down from there without bringing the girl with you, I'm going to kill you," Cato warns.

There's no doubt that Cato means every word of his threat and her fear of him overrides her fear of climbing higher. I notice that Peeta's out of his bush by now and looking up at the tree at Rue. The little girl meets eyes with him and gives him a quick shake of her head.

"Listen to her, Peeta," I say, not being able to help myself. "There's nothing that you can do to save her and even she knows it."

When Peeta's shoulders slump I am convinced that just maybe she has gotten through to him until he takes out his knife and starts walking towards the Careers that have their backs to him.

Rue's eyes widen in fear.

"NO! WAIT!" Rue screams, suddenly. "DON'T MOVE!"

Peeta freezes immediately but shoots a quick glance up to Rue and he sees that her attention was completely focused on Glimmer. It's not until the camera moves to show the wasp's nest at the end of the branch near the girl's head that I realize why Rue sounded so panicked.

"You don't think that those are tracker jackers, do you?" I ask, trying to keep calm. "What would be the odds?"

"It's an arena," Johanna reminds me. "I can pretty much guarantee that those aren't regular wasps."

"It can't be," I say, desperately. "They're notoriously aggressive, they would've gotten stung by now if it was the muttations."

"They were probably subdued by the smoke in the arena," Haymitch points out as the camera zooms in on the nest where a couple of the creatures are now flying around it. I recognize the large gold body immediately; it's definitely a tracker jacker nest and my stomach churns at the thought.

Unfortunately, of those in the area of the nest, only Peeta and Rue have noticed it. Glimmer, ignoring Rue's warnings grabs ahold of the branch where the nest is located and begins to pull herself up. There's a small snap and the motion seems to stir up more of the insects, bringing them out of the nest.

Rue meets eyes with Peeta again. "RUN!"

Thankfully, he does as she says; because no sooner than he has jumped back into his hiding place, does the branch break completely and down comes the nest, the branch, and Glimmer.

Everything happens so fast that I have some trouble keeping up with what is going on. Glimmer and the branch land unceremoniously atop of the District 4 girl. Marvel and Cato both look as if they're going to try to help the girls up when the tracker jackers make their presence known.

The majority of the swarm seems rather interested in the two females lying in a heap at the base of the tree, but small group heads towards Marvel and Cato. The boys notice this and take off running.

And that's when the stings come. The screams from the girls are so loud that they even startle Misu on the other side of the lake. She moves closer to the edge and squints her eyes, trying to figure out what is going on. Cato and Marvel run past the bush that Peeta is hiding in, each yelping a couple times as they get stung. The two boys jump into the lake and drop under the water for some time. The wasps fly angrily over where their heads disappeared for a few seconds before they all fly off.

The girls aren't quite as lucky, however, and soon the two shrieks become one. A cannon fires but it is almost difficult to hear over Glimmer's gibbering cries. But even those eventually settle down into whimpers before they die out altogether. A second cannon rings out, signaling the end of the beautiful girl from District 1.

Misu stands on the lake edge and helps Cato and Marvel out of the water. The swim and the stings have taken a lot out of them.

"What happened?" Misu asks, as the boys sit on the shore trying to catch their breath. "Where are the girls?"

"Didn't you hear the cannons?" Cato snarls at her as he touches a quickly swelling sting behind his ear.

"They're dead?" Misu asks incredulously. "How?"

"Tracker jackers," Marvel says, letting himself lie back. "How many cannons did you hear?"

"Two," she tells him.

"That means she's still alive," Cato says and the fury is evident on his face.

"Who?"

"The little girl from 11," Marvel explains, as he closes his eyes.

Misu actually laughs at this, earning her glares from both of the boys. "Wait. Are you telling me that wisp of a thing caused all this?"

"Shut up," Cato demands and he tries to get up. It appears that his legs won't work and he has to crawl his way up to the camp. Marvel follows suit, not being able to walk himself.

Misu watches this with a scowl on her face. "Wait, does this mean that I'm still on guard duty?" No one answers her and she plops down on the ground, her scowl deepening. "Well, that's just great."

As that is going on, Peeta climbs out of his bush and races over to where Rue was treed. The tracker jackers have left the area, and Peeta takes a moment to survey the damage. His color grows a little green at the look of the bodies of the two girls.

"Rue?" Peeta calls out, looking up at the tree. "Are you still here?"

"Peeta?" Rue replies and she starts climbing down to him. "Are you all right? Did you get stung?"

"No, I'm fine," he tells her. "How about you?"

"I didn't get stung, either," she says, shaking her head as she effortlessly makes her way down. Her climbing skill obviously surpasses even my own. But she spoke too soon because when she's four feet above Peeta's head, a lone tracker jacker flies down from the nearby cluster of leaves and stings Rue's right calf. The pain of it causes her hands to lose their grip and she falls. Peeta catches her in his arms and sets her down gently on the ground and starts examining her.

"Did one get you?" Peeta asks and Rue nods weakly, big blobs of water falling from her eyes. "Where?"

Rue pulls up her pant leg and shows Peeta the site of the sting. His face hardens in concentration. "I'm going to have to get the stinger out."

She nods before replying weakly. "I know."

"I'm sorry if this hurts," he says, and she closes her eyes tightly in response. He takes that as a sign that she's ready and pulls the barbed stinger out of Rue's leg. Some green fluid starts coming out of the sting. Peeta gives Rue's face a quick glance before he squeezes the area, causing more of the liquid to ooze out. His frown deepens with every pained noise she makes.

"Smart boy," Haymitch says softly and I look away from the screens long enough to notice the look of pride on his face.

"Okay, I think that's the best I can do right now," Peeta says, and then he scoops her up in his arms and takes off at a run.

"Peeta…" His name comes out as a whimper from the small girl and he pulls her closer to him.

"Shhh…" he says, somehow sounding consoling while at a sprint. "Let's just get out of here first, okay?

"Okay," she says, her voice soft.

We watch as Peeta runs through the woods, his speed rivaling that of his run from the Cornucopia. I find it an impressive show of his strength and stamina and I hear several pings from my computer agreeing with me.

"Well, that couldn't have gone any better for him," Haymitch says, leaning back in his chair.

"Seriously," Johanna says in agreement. "He got out of there without even a single sting and the Careers lost two of their own."

"I can't believe he's okay," I manage to get out. I was so sure that Peeta would die today that my head can't comprehend that he's actually out of danger for now. It is only by sheer force of will that I keep myself from bursting into tears. I let out long, shaky breaths as I try to regain my composure.

Johanna examines me for a second before turning to Haymitch and telling him, "You know what the best part of what just happened is?"

"That we might have an hour of peace before Katniss has another emotional crisis?" Haymitch guesses.

"No, but that's also a good thing," she admits. "I was thinking that Finnick just lost his girl tribute, which means that he'll be free the next time she falls to pieces and we can let him deal with it."

"Good plan," Haymitch tells her, leaning back in his chair.

"I thought so," she says.

"Very funny. Just shut up, both of you," I say, frowning at them. This causes the two of them to crack up and I know that the teasing is just going to get that much worse once Finnick joins in.

"So now that Finnick's out, does this mean we get you full time?" Haymitch asks Johanna.

"Like I have anywhere better to go?" Johanna responds. "I'm hungry. Can we order breakfast now?"

"Go ahead," I tell her, and focus my attention back on Peeta. He is still running like a madman, Rue cradled in his arm making her look even smaller than she is.

It is not hard to tell when the hallucinations start, as Rue starts murmuring gibberish and twitching in Peeta's arms. This seems to drive Peeta to go faster as he coos soothingly at the girl.

I bite my lip. "Do you think she's going to die?"

"I don't know," Haymitch says, glancing at me. "But I think it's doubtful, she only got stung the once."

"But she's so tiny," I point out.

"So were you when you were in the arena," Johanna reminds me. "But that didn't stop you from being a tough little thing."

"Besides, Peeta took out the stinger and drained some of tracker jacker poison out of her body," Haymitch says. "I think she's going to have a nasty time with all the visions for a bit, but she'll survive."

I am sickened with myself when I realize that I met the news of Rue's probable survival with mixed feelings. I can't help but think that it would have been easier on Peeta if she succumbed to the poison and died that way; but I know it's a horrible thought and Peeta would probably hate me if he knew I could be that way.

It's a couple of hours of nonstop running before Peeta stops for the first time. He places Rue down on the ground and checks on the sting in her leg that has swollen up to size of a large plum. He touches it gingerly, checking for Rue's reaction, but she is too deep in her hallucination to react. Because of that he squeezes the sting again, prompting the appearance of several droplets of the green liquid.

He pulls out the bottle of water and tries to get Rue to drink some; but in her state, it proves to be a waste of time. After putting the bottle back in his pack, he produces a packet of crackers that I hadn't even been aware that he had. Again, he attempts to give some to Rue with no success. He devours all but three of the crackers, putting the remainder in his backpack.

His pace is slower when he starts up again, but not by that much. I don't know how he's able to keep running while also carrying the extra weight of another person in his arms. He makes the bare minimum of stops, every time attempting to get food or water into Rue. A couple of times, he manages to get her to drink some between the end of one hallucination episode and the start of the next one and his bottle is empty by mid-afternoon.

Thankfully, it's takes him less than an hour after that to find the stream again. He looks as relieved as I feel at the sight of the water. He sets Rue down for a minute as he goes about refilling the bottle of water and purifying it.

As we watch Peeta try and catch some fish, the door to the mentoring station opens and Finnick steps in, looking refreshed and in a pleasant mood.

"So, I'm out," he says before sighing grandly. He plops down on the couch beside Johanna and rests his head on her shoulder before she shrugs him off. "I'm so depressed, comfort me?"

"We've got our hands full dealing with Little Miss Mood Swings over there," Johanna tells him. "I was kinda hoping that you would step in and be the one who dealt with all of that."

"Oh, little Squirrel," Finnick says, looking over at me. "What's got you so wound up? Your little boyfriend there is safe and if that wasn't enough, I'm here now. You should be bursting with joy."

I choose to ignore most of his comments to me. "You know that it's not true."

"I know what isn't true?" Finnick asks me, looking confused.

"You said that Peeta was safe, and that's a lie. He's in danger as long as he's still in the arena," I tell him, watching the screen as said boy brings his catches over to where Rue is twitching.

"You do have a point about that," Finnick concedes, nodding at me. "But he's in a better position now than he was last night, so maybe you should take that as a victory and celebrate it."

"I think I'll save all my celebrations for if Peeta makes it out alive," I tell him. I don't understand him; of all people, he should be the one to whom I shouldn't have to explain what I'm going through.

"You're so grumpy," he says, pouting. "I would have thought you'd have been in a better mood after all that loving the boy gave you a few nights ago."

Johanna and Haymitch chuckle at that as I bury my face in my hands. "Don't say things like that! Especially when you know they aren't true."

"If it's not even remotely true, then why are you blushing so furiously?" Finnick asks me. "Obviously, something must have happened to get such a reaction out of you; and it must have been something really dirty…"

"Finnick!" I cry as my cheeks burn hotter.

"You know, the only way to make me believe that what I heard you did isn't true, is to tell me what did happen between the two of you up on that roof."

"Nothing happened," I tell him and he snorts incredulously. "Well nothing you would fine interesting, at least. We just kissed."

"Must have been a hell of a kiss if the memory of it has got you smiling like that," Johanna says.

"Can we please drop it?"

"Are you going to stop being so petulant?" I hate when he answers my questions with a question.

"I'll try to be more cheerful as I watch Peeta endure the horrors of the arena," I say sarcastically.

"Keep up the attitude and I'll go keep Gloss and Cashmere company," he warns. But I know it's an empty threat, as Finnick often complains about the creepy vibe the siblings give off whenever he has to spend time with them.

"No, don't go," I say because the truth is that I want him to stay. He has managed to cheer me up, even if it was only a little.

"Well, I guess I'll stay," he says, grinning at me. "But only because you asked so nicely."

"Hey!" Johanna exclaims suddenly. "We're down to the final eight!"

I count the survivors quickly in my head. "Yeah, you're right. They'll probably start doing the interviews tomorrow, then."

The three other occupants turn their heads and look in my direction, and they appear to be expecting some sort of reaction from me.

"What?" I ask finally, annoyed with the stares.

"I think we were all waiting for when it finally hits you that you're going to be the first one they're going to want to interview for Peeta," Johanna says.

Oh. I hadn't thought about that.