Here it is...another update! This semester is going to be intense (I feel like I'm already drowning in schoolwork!) I'll try to update twice a week but I can't make any promises...it will be once a week at the least.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games of any of its characters.

Chapter 14

The next days were difficult for Katniss. Her mother kept a close watch on her, not letting her leave the house. She spent most of her day sitting on the wide window ledge, wondering if Gale was ok. On the plus side, now that she was home, she could spend more time with Prim. She felt like she had been ignoring her ever since Gale came back into her life. It wasn't intentional but she couldn't help that her boyfriend had come back from the dead.

By Thursday evening, she grew antsy from being inside all week long. She managed to get her mother's permission to spend the night in the Seam as long as she dropped off a basket of food to the Hawthorne's on the way and if she promised not to venture into the woods.

When she reached the Hawthorne's house, she was in for a chilling surprise. The front door was ajar and all the lights were off. She carefully made her way inside, nervous about what she might find. She turned on the lights to find the whole house in a disheveled state.

"Hazelle…Rory…Vick…Posy?" she called out as steadily as she could. Whatever had happened to them, she could tell there had been a struggle. A pot of food had dropped onto the floor and a few chairs were overturned. On the table, she found a warrant sign by the Head Peacekeeper. Her heart jumped out of her chest when she realized that they were being held in custody by the Peacekeepers. She immediate dropped the basket, and ran straight to the Justice Building. She had to make sure they were safe. As she sprinted, her mind raced, as she thought of a reason why the Peacekeepers would arrest them. They couldn't have broken any laws. Maybe Snow planned on doing something to them to punish them for Gale's escape. She quickly scaled the steps to the building and made her way inside the lobby to the front desk.

"Where are they?" she shouted to the guard on duty.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to be more specific." the Peacekeeper in a lackluster way.

"The Hawthornes. What did you do with them?"

"They are in a holding cell."

"Why are they here?"

"I'm afraid I can't divulge that information. It's confidential." he said as he resumed reading his paper.

"I need to see them." she said, as the anger started showing through.

"Visiting hours are over. You will have to come back tomorrow." he said not breaking his stare at the paper.

"I'll see them right now!" she said as she slammed her hand on the paper, causing it to tear down the middle. She felt someone restrain her before leading her outside into the night. She tried to resist but she was overpowered. She wasn't sure who it was until she turned around. It was Darius, the only decent Peacekeeper in District 12.

"That was quite a scene you caused."

"Why do they have the Hawthornes?" she demanded him. She saw him look around.

"Here, I'll walk you home." he said. When they were a safe distance away from the square, he started talking.

"Someone saw Gale Hawthorne in the Seam last night." he said in a low voice.

"He can't be…he's dead." she said. "Who saw him?"

"His neighbors."

"How do you know the person isn't lying to you?"

"Because we have two separate eyewitnesses."

"Darius, this is ridiculous, he's buried in the graveyard in the Seam. How can he possibly be alive?"

He looked at her apprehensively, like he knew something she didn't. Could he possibly know Gale was alive? He leaned in closer to her and lowered her voice.

"I shouldn't be telling you this but if anyone should know, it's you. We got a report from the Capitol a few months ago telling us that he escaped from the morgue in the Training Center; that he didn't really die in the arena. Each district has been keeping an eye out for him. No one knows where he is."

"No, that's impossible." she said shaking her head in disbelief. She only hoped her acting skills would come off as genuine.

"It's true."

"What would they want with the Hawthornes, then?"

"We plan on interrogating them tomorrow to see what they know."

"You really think he could make it all that way?" she asked, looking up at him.

"If there's anyone who could do it, you know it's him." Darius said. She nodded her head in agreement. "Meet me in the lobby tomorrow at noon. I'll make sure you get to see them."

"Thank you." she said to him. She stood on her front porch until Darius was out of sight, but she didn't enter her house. Instead, she ran for the fence. She knew she promised her mother that she wouldn't go into the woods, but she needed answers. Once she was outside the fence, she gathered her hunting supplies and ran off into the woods. It was much easier to maneuver through the forest now that the snow had melted. A mixture of emotions ran through her as she raced through the forest: anger that he didn't listen to her, sorrow for what this meant for them, and fear for what they would do to him. She quickly weaved through the trees until she reached her destination. She took a deep breath as she turned the knob to open the door to the cabin, dreading to have this conversation.

(Gale POV)

Just as Gale was readying himself to go to sleep, he saw Katniss burst through the door to his dwelling.

"Katniss." he said as he ran up to her and took her in his arms. He felt her forcefully shove him away from her causing his back to plow into the stone wall behind him. He could see the hurt in her eyes.

"What have you done, Gale?" she questioned him. He wasn't sure what was going on, or why she would come this late at night to see him.

"Katniss what are you talking about?"

"I told you to stay out of District 12, and not to visit them." Oh…that.

"I couldn't take it anymore, being away from my family. I needed to see them." He watched her breakdown into tears in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back.

"What's wrong, Katniss?"

"Someone in the Seam. They saw you."

"No, I was careful. They couldn't have."

"It was more than one person. They told the Peacekeepers they saw you leaving your house."

"It will be fine. If they start to search the woods, I'll just flee to somewhere else, maybe to another district until things calm down."

"Gale, they have your family." she cried. He felt his heart sink down to the pit of his stomach.

"What are they doing with them?"

"They are going to interrogate them tomorrow." she told him. He knew that wasn't good, especially if they planned on talking with Posy. She wouldn't know what was going on and would tell them that he was alive and hiding in the woods.

"I guess there's only one thing to do." he said, his heart starting to ache. Katniss looked up at him with worry about what he would say next. "I have to turn myself in."

"No, Gale, you can't!" she said clinging onto him.

"It's the only way I can keep them safe. Plus I brought this on myself, now I have to pay for the consequences."

"If you walk into that building, you are as good as dead."

"I know." he said. He could feel his heart begin to race even more as he thought about the future. Why didn't he just listen to her? He wouldn't be in this mess. His future looked even bleaker than before. Now he'd have to face Snow and the Capitol once again. He knew they would be unforgiving for everything he'd done. They'd execute him; maybe even televise it to show to everyone what happens to those who don't obey. Of course then they would have to admit that they messed up by declaring him dead in the arena, even though he wasn't. Perhaps they would lock him away in the Capitol for the rest of his life, running experiments or torturing him whenever they saw fit. He shuddered at the thought of that. He'd take death over that any day.

His mind came back to Katniss, who was now beginning to hyperventilate. He took her to the cot and sat her on his lap.

"Katniss, calm down. I know it's hard to deal with this, but this is how it has to be."

"I can't have you go away, not again." she said as she cried into his shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'll get through it, just like before."

"No I can't. I don't want to. I just want you." she said looking down.

It was so painful, seeing her so upset about him. He placed a finger under her chin, raising it up so that her eyes met his. He searched for something to say but nothing came to mind. There were no words to match what he was feeling right now. Instead he leaned towards her until his mouth was covering hers. She let out a whimper as he continued to move his lips against hers. She was obviously still upset. Tears flowed down her cheeks and he brushed them away as he took a hold of her face. He slid back on the cot, his lips not breaking from hers as he laid back with her body pressed to the side of him. Gale could feel her deepen the kisses and she eventually slid her tongue in his mouth. He never wanted her more than he did right now. He unbuttoned the top of his pants and then worked on zipper. He took her hand that was now resting on his chest, and slowed guided it down the front of him. He was taken back when she pulled her hand away, just as she reached the band around his underwear.

"No Gale, we can't." she said. She must have known where all of this would lead.

"Why not?" he asked her softly.

"Because I don't want to get pregnant!" she said with panic. He watched her sit up and bring her knees into her chest. He sat up as well.

"There are ways around that." he whispered into her ear.

"I can't risk it."

"Even if you did, what's the worst that could happen?" he asked. The way she looked at him, he could tell she had already thought about it.

"If that happened and Snow found out, you know what he would do." She must have seen that he wasn't following where this going because she added, "They would take it away from me."

"No Katniss, they couldn't."

"They can do whatever they want Gale. You know they can and there would be nothing I could do to stop it."

After she said that, he realized that it really was a possibility, especially if Snow found out the child was also his. He'd probably do something really sadistic, like raise the child as his own. His body cringed at the thought of it. He couldn't allow for that to happen.

He hated that Katniss thought this way, that the Capitol made her think these things. She shouldn't have to worry about how the Capitol could take away all the happiness from her life, even though they often did that to victors who didn't comply with their wishes.

"I'm going to go outside for a little. I need to cool off." he said getting up and fastening his pants. The cold winter wind hit his skin, with the sharpness of a knife. It didn't bother him though; he was too numb from the pain. He sat against a tree trunk and took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling as he thought about how screwed up his life was. Gale didn't want to leave her, but he knew he had to turn himself in. He couldn't do that to his family and the Peacekeepers would find him eventually. He wished he could run away with her into the woods, never looking back. Not that that could ever happened.

If only he had never volunteered in the first place. He was sure she could have made it out of the Games without him having to help her. Then they could be together, the way he always dreamed they would. After a few minutes he returned inside to find Katniss asleep on the cot. He joined her in bed, but didn't close his eyes. Watching her lying there was more than he could take. She looked so beautiful and he loved her so much. He could feel the tears building up in his eyes, falling onto his skin as he rapidly blinked his eyes. He kissed her cheek, then her forehead. He heard a horrible sounding gasp leave his mouth as choked on his breath. He wrapped his now shaking arms around her. The reverberations of his body were enough to wake her.

"Gale." she said softly, brush the tears away with her fingertips. He wished she didn't have to see him cry. He wanted to remain strong for her. It had been so long since he last cried, not since his father died. The emotions of the past year had taken its toll, causing him to break.

"I love you so much." he told her.

"I know, I love you too." she said brushing her fingers through his hair.

"There are so many things I wanted for us. I wanted to marry you and have kids even though I know you don't want them…or didn't want them. Do you…?" he asked trailing off. She opened her mouth to speak but he covered it with his index finger. "No, I don't want to know. It doesn't matter anyway." he said.

"Gale, do you remember the time when time when you sat on an anthill?" she asked as she smiled at him.

"Yeah, so?" he asked. He did remember. It happened shortly after they had met each other in the woods. She had just turned 12 and he was 14. One day when they stopped to take a rest, Gale sat down on the ground unaware that a huge anthill was just below him. He quickly jumped up, moving his body, trying to get the ants off of him as he freaked out. He didn't see how that was relevant. Then he realized why she mentioned it. She was trying to cheer him up.

"You remember the dance right?" she said jumping up for the bed and hopping to the floor. A smile spread to his face as he watched her move her body, replicating the dance. For about a year after the ant incident occurred, she frequently taunted him with 'ants in your pants' dance, as she liked to call it. Whenever she did it, it always made him laugh, even if it was at his expense.

"I can't remember the last time you did that." he said still laughing as she joined him on the bed.

"Me either. What do you remember…about us?" she asked him.

"The dirt cakes you used to make me for my birthday. I always looked forward to those." he told her. It started out as a joke but quickly turned into a tradition. Every year on Gale's birthday, Katniss made him a birthday cake out of dirt, decorating it with things she found around the meadow, like berries, flowers, and twigs. She then placed a small candle in the middle and lit it before presenting it to him. It was the best she could give him since there was no money to buy real birthday cakes from the bakery. He didn't care though.

"But you couldn't even eat it." she told him.

"I still liked them." he said with a grin.

They reminisced some more about their favorite memories and the interesting things that happened to them in the woods. They laughed and stole kisses from each other as they recounted their history. Gale noticed the sky was starting to get lighter and Katniss must have as well.

"Are you tired? We can rest for a little if you want to." she suggested.

"No, I'll have plenty of time for that. I want to spend every second I have left with you." he said. For the longest time, they just stared at each other as they struggled to stay awake.

"You're not tired at all?" she asked him breaking the silence.

"If you need to sleep, it's ok. I'll wake you up." he told her. He could tell she felt guilty about it. She didn't want to take away the time they had left together. "Katniss, it will be fine." With that, she closed her eyes and drifted off. Gale held onto her and thought about what was next for the both of them. He didn't want his fate to affect her as it did before. He knew she would mourn the loss of him once again, he just hoped it wouldn't consume her for the rest of her life. He closed his eyes, trying to block away the thoughts but instead felt himself drifting off into the oblivion.

(Katniss POV)

When Katniss woke, she looked up and saw Gale was fast asleep. She worried about how long they had been out but when she looked outside, she could tell by the sun's position in the sky that it was still the early morning. She went back inside and woke him with a kiss. He seemed surprised to be jarred out of his sleep with her lips touching his but then relaxed himself as he pulled her closer.

"We should start heading back soon." she told him.

"No, it's still early." he told her.

"If we don't leave soon, you'll miss the surprise." she told him. He looked at her with intrigue. She climbed out of bed and he joined her. He quickly got ready to leave and they were soon leaving the cabin for the forest. They walked briskly through the woods. When they got to the edge of the clearing, Gale stopped to take in the scene just one more time. Katniss stood beside him.

"We had some great times out here, didn't we?" he said sentimentally.

"The best." she said smiling happily at him as she took his hand. They walked hand in hand as they made their way to the edge of District 12. Gale waited as Katniss hid her hunting gear. When she returned, Gale drew her near, as he kissed her one last time. She wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted. It seemed like neither of them wanted it to end. Eventually he did.

"So what's the surprise?" Gale asked. She figured she might as well tell him since he would know where they were headed anyway.

"I thought we could go to the Hob before you turned yourself in." She saw a smile appear on his face.

"That sounds perfect." he replied.

After crossing under the fence, they walked through the Seam to the Hob. They didn't encounter too many people on their way and those they had didn't seem to notice Gale. When they entered the Hob, it was bustling with people. As they walked down the central aisle, she saw people frozen with shock to see Gale with her. Whispers flew around the room until the whole place was silent. The only noise was the sound of their footsteps on the floor. They continued to make their way to Greasy Sae's booth at the end on the row. She was the only one who didn't seem surprised that he was there, as she carried on as normal. As soon as they took a seat by the counter, the chatter resumed.

"What do we have today, Sae?" Gale asked her with a smile.

"Back from the dead, Mr. Hawthorne?" she said with a toothy smile.

"Yes, just for a little bit." he answered back.

"Today it's rabbit stew." she said, answering his question from before. She quickly brought them each a bowl of stew with a spoon placed inside. They quickly ate their first bowls before asking for seconds. When Sae returned, Katniss paid for their meal. They ate their second bowls much slower to drag out the time before they had to leave. Gale finished his stew first and went to a nearby stand to say hello to the vendor that occupied it. As Katniss finished her bowl, she heard a voice come from her left.

"I should have known that you knew about him." Darius said with a clever smile. Katniss smiled bashfully at the fact that he knew her secret. "So long did you know?"

"January." she told him.

"You put up quite a good act last night, pretending like you didn't know what was going on."

"Well I didn't know if I could trust you or not. You are a Peacekeeper after all."

"Oh, I'm hurt!" he exclaimed as he clutched his heart as if he were in pain.

"Well it's true."

"You know I always have your back." he told her before he took the end of her braid tickled under her chin. Katniss laughed as she swung her braid away from his hand. His eyes lost the twinkled in an instant as Gale approached them.

"Gale." Darius nodded, as he acknowledged him before walking away.

"What did he want?" Gale asked with jealousy woven in his voice.

"Just saying hi." Katniss responded.

"Since when were you friends with Peacekeepers?"

"He's not like the others, Gale. You know that."

"Still, I wouldn't go around sharing secrets with him."

"He helped me last night. He told me what was going on."

"Just be careful, that's all." he said taking her hand. They made their way out of the Hob and started their journey to the center of town. As they passed, people gathered outside of their homes and shops, whispering to each other in amazement and shock that he was still alive. People then started following them, wondering what they would do next. Katniss hoped it didn't look like they the people were marching along with them. The last thing she wanted was for the Peacekeepers to think that they were starting an uprising.

Gale stopped Katniss when they were halfway up the stairs.

"I don't want you going in there with me. I wouldn't want them to think that you had any connection with this." he told her.

"Ok." she said nodding in agreement.

"How about one last kiss?" he asked her.

"There are so many people around." she said looking out of the corner of her eye. She didn't like having all those eyes on her.

"Then make it a good one." he whispered in her ear. She pulled away from him and smiled as stood on her toes to reach his lips. She could feel his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, as he eliminated any space left between their bodies. Katniss took in everything about the moment, wanting to remember exactly how it felt to kiss him. When he stepped back from her after the kiss was over, she wanted to cry. This was it. She wouldn't allow herself to do that though. She wanted to remain strong for him so he wouldn't worry about her.

"I love you." he whispered to her with a serious expression.

"I love you too…forever." she replied. He kissed her forehead one last time before he turned to make he way to the entrance of the building.

Katniss watched as Gale walked up the steps and into the Justice Building. Once he had disappeared, she turned around and saw the crowd starting to disperse. Standing still, about 20 yards away, was Peeta Mellark. She wasn't sure if he was still there because he was in shock from what his just witnessed or because he wanted to talk to her. She descended the steps and made her way towards him. When she was halfway to him, he turned around and started to walk back to the bakery.

"Peeta, wait up." she said trailing behind him. She could see his pace quicken as he made his way through the square. Katniss had to jog to catch up to him. "Peeta, wait a second!."

He took her arm and remained silent as he led her to a small alleyway close by. He remained silent as he thought of what to say.

"You were never going to give me a chance, were you?"

"Peeta, I didn't expect for him to show up."

"How long have you known about him…that he wasn't dead?"

"Right after the victory tour." She could see him flinch a little when he heard her response.

"All those times you said you were going hunting; you were actually going into the woods to be with him." She could see the pain written on his face. She nodded. "You could have told me that you didn't want to be with me. It would have been a lot better than finding out like this."

"I didn't want to hurt you." she said.

"Yeah, looks like that really worked for you." he said sarcastically as he turned to walk away. Katniss stood there unable to process what had just happened. She really did care about Peeta, if she hadn't, it would have been easy to break her ties with him. She wanted to follow him and explain everything that happened but she knew he wouldn't listen. Instead, she made her way out of the alley and walked back to Victor's Village.

Oh no, the Capitol has Gale again! What do you think is going to happen next?

Btw, just to remind you, Gale will not die again so you don't have to worry about that. He won't be in the next chapter or two, but don't worry, there will definitely be a lot more Galeniss. You'll just have to be a little patient :)

P.S. I'm about to go to a class with a professor I really can't stand. It would be nice to get some reviews to read when I get back from class!