She was released a short week later. The doctors all agreed that she had healed very well and quickly at that.
Gale, Finnick, and I were picking her up from the hospital to take her back to her farm. Gale was waiting in the car. Finnick and I stood inside. listening to her doctor go over the many medications she had.
"Make sure to give her the pain medication. Even if she tells you she doesn't need it give it to her. She needs it."
A nurse came around the corner with Katniss in her wheel chair. I couldn't get over how much better she was. A week ago she'd been dying in a coma with no hope of waking up and now she was awake, even smiling.
"Make sure when you get home she showers not bathes. She needs to clean the wounds regularly." I nodded as the nurse neared us.
"Is her ride ready?"
"Yeah he's outside." I said. Finnick lead the way out to the truck we'd driven over there. Fresh snow littered the ground as we loaded her into the car.
I thanked the doctor again before climbing in the back beside her. I leaned over her briefly and buckled her in. She looked uncomfortable as the seat belt settled over her abdomen, but there wasn't a chance I'd let her drive with out a seat belt. Not when she was already so fragile.
Gale tried to drive slowly over bumps, but living so far out in the country side, it was difficult. I held her hand and squeezed it each time her teeth clenched together in pain.
She smiled at me when we reached her farm, "Welcome home." I leaned over and kissed her before unbuckling her seat belt.
I ran across the other side of the car as she was already trying to climb out on her own.
"Careful." I tell her, "You're only just getting home." Once she'd stepped down she took my hands gratefully. With one hand behind her back and one holding her hand I led her up to her bedroom.
I sat her down on her bed so she could catch her breath, "you're okay." I assured her. She nodded slowly as she caught her breath, "Let's get you showered."
"No, I'm fine." She said putting her arm out.
"Katniss the doctor told us you needed to be washed off. We have to keep the wounds clean." I told her strictly.
"She has a thing." I turned and saw Prim standing in the door, "She doesn't like it when people see her naked."
"Primrose!" Katniss' eyes widened.
"I'll get her showered Peeta, you can go ahead down stairs." Prim offered. I nodded and walked out of the bedroom. I walked into the kitchen where the others stood around with mugs of coffee.
"How is she?" Annie asked.
"Bashful." I laughed, "Prim's changing her because she doesn't like people looking at her."
"Now is really not the time for that." Finnick laughed. Though I'd beg to differ I don't argue.
"That's just Catnip for ya. She can wrestle down any animal you set loose on her but she gets downright frightened if you try to strip her down." Gale snickered, "She ain't a fool, but she ain't easy to deal with."
"I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing." Annie said.
"So that means I win right? Because I got her in that slutty Minnie costume!" Johanna sat up straighter.
"Catnip? In something slutty?" Gale laughed, "I'd love to see that."
"Hey! Your fiancé is right here." Madge said.
"You know you can't imagine Katniss in anything sexy hun, just admit it. You'd laugh to." He said taking her waist and kissing her.
"Yeah yeah bastard," Madge mumbled.
"I love you." He assured her. We talked for a bit until Prim walked down and said she'd gotten Katniss into bed.
I walked back up to her room where she laid out panting for breath. Her damp hair sprawled around her. I walked over and sat beside her. I held up her head while she took the pills I'd fed her. I slowly lowered her back onto the propped up pillows but she still winced in pain.
"The medicine will kick in soon, don't worry." I promised her. "Do you need anything?" She stiffly shook her head. "Are you sure?" She nodded. "Get some sleep then okay? I'll be back up in an hour."
"Okay." She whispered so softly I hardly understood her. I got up and went back down to talk with the others.
Prim sat on the edge of the table with a notepad on her lap, Annie and Finnick sat at the other end of the table leaning their heads on one another. Thresh, Rue, and Ginger were talking to Prim, teasing her about how she still had homework. Johanna was making fun of Gale for some reason, but his face was bright red. Madge was on the side laughing. Haymitch, Boggs and Beetee were drinking on the side laughing.
Glimmer, Clove, and Cato stood conversing. We all looked like a real family.
"I'm just saying that you sound like a prick and act like one." Johanna said.
"You makin fun of where I come from?"
"No I'm just saying. Coming from a city girl you sound like a prick."
"I bet you think you know all the shit just cause you come from some big ol' city. But you don't know nothing bout us."
"I've seen it all babe. Trust me. You're probably the hot shot cowboy all the girls fawn over. The big tough guy who did everything in high school. You were maybe even a bad boy."
Gale laughed, "You basin your facts off of movie aren't ya? I bet you've never even seen a farm animal in person."
"Gale! Sorry he's an ass." Madge said to Johanna.
"I can tell." Johanna laughed.
Prim looked up from her homework to shove Ginger aside. Finnick rubbed Annie's stomach and smiled into her neck. Cato crushed Clove to him as Glimmer cackled at something.
I spent some time down with the rest of them. We all talked and laughed before I went back to check on Katniss.
I walked into her room and found her with her eyes snapped shut. She looked like she'd been crying.
"Katniss?" I whispered slowly putting my hand on her cheek. She was warm with fever. "How do you feel?" I asked.
She opened her eyes and shrugged. "Has the medicine started working?" Again she shrugged, "What does that mean? It's been an hour you can take more."
"I'm okay." She whispered.
"Now that's a damned lie," I told her outright, "I can get you something to eat. Are you hungry?"
"No."
I sighed at her answer, "You haven't eaten all day."
"I'll throw up." She said simply.
"Do you feel sick now?" She nodded and another tear slipped down her face. Walked swiftly down the stairs and grabbed a large bowel for her. I sat next to her again as she used her good arm to wipe her eyes.
"I'm sorry." She croaked softly.
"I'm here for you okay? Don't be sorry." She started crying again but I wiped her eyes for her.
I sat with her for a while just clearing her eyes of tears and brushing through her hair. Until she actually did throw up. Though I'm not sure how she managed it since she hadn't eaten all day.
She'd thrown up at least three times when I noticed it was darker in color the room I sat in was pitch black as the sun had set already.
"I'll be right back okay?" She nodded and let me leave. I took the bowel with me, once I'd stepped out into the hallway it was clearly blood she'd be vomiting.
I hurried down the stairs and began to wash it out in the sink quickly. Once I'd turned on the water I spoke up, "Gale get the car started."
"Why?" He asked.
"We need to get back to the hospital." I said.
"What?" Prim asked once I'd shut the water off.
"She's vomiting blood, we need to get her back to the hospital." I said running back up the stairs. I ran into her room, "Katniss we're taking you back to the doctor okay?"
"I c... can stand." She muttered. I helped her to her feet but she was weak and fell into my arms. I cradled her in may arms and ran back out to the truck.
She clung to me in pain as I climbed outside. Annie had climbed into the back seat with Gale running the car.
I placed Katniss on the seat and tried to buckle her in but she leaned out of the car and threw up again when I tried.
"Peeta just get in the car." Annie ordered me taking Katniss and having her lean her head on her shoulder.
I ran into the passenger seat so we could speed off to the hospital. Every bump in the road made Katniss gasp in pain.
Annie tried soothing her softly, "You're okay." She whispered over and over again until Katniss asked.
"Where am I again?"
"We're taking you to the hospital honey."
"Who's we?" We pulled into the emergency room lot. Before Gale even parked I'd hopped out of the car and swung her car door open.
Again I cradled her in my arms. Annie went in ahead of Katniss and I Gale locked the car and hurried behind.
The moment we walked into the emergency room we saw people waiting, but the nurse behind the front desk had been one of Katniss' nurses.
He stood up the moment he saw Annie and I. Then he spotted Katniss in my arms.
He took us into a trauma room and had me lay her out. A whole team filed into the room. Her nurse was speaking very quickly and I couldn't exactly understand what he was saying, until he stared at me for an answer. "Well?"
"She's vomiting blood," I said which seemed to me like a good answer. He put an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose.
A doctor came running in to check on her. He lifted her shirt and saw her incision was inflamed, "Get her up into surgery." They rolled her out of the room quickly, before any of us could ask what was happening.
We were escorted back out to the waiting room all of us knew far too well. There we waited but not for too long. The doctors came out quickly actually.
"She's going to be just fine." Was the first thing they said. I was just happy to hear that, "We think that we missed a nick in her stomach when we initially did surgery and the car ride shook her around a bit causing the nick to become a tear. But when she wakes up you'll be able to take her back home."
"That soon?" Annie asked.
"Yes. We checked over her very thoroughly before closing. Now it's just a matter of time for her to heal." I was extremely happy when they said that. She was going to be fine, and she was going to get better.