A/N: A second chapter in just a few hours? I think it's the rain's fault. Anyway, there's a lot about Mrs. Mellark's abuse in here. Be warned.

Word count: 1,495

In the aftermath of Snow's announcement, suspicious glances were directed towards the peacekeepers, who were nervous themselves knowing they'd be entered into Two's own reaping. Most of them had hoped for an escape from Twelve since they had received their post but through promotions, not the Hunger Games.

The most noteworthy effect of the announcement that Katniss noticed came in the form of Peeta. She'd noticed it when she'd looked across the cafeteria at lunch, but it was Prim who first said it aloud that same day when he joined the two of them outside the school.

"Oh, no! Peeta, what happened to your arm?"

Prim rushed forward, ever the nurse. She had nothing with her to treat the injury, but that didn't stop her from gently grasping Peeta's forearm and inspecting the bloody bandages that covered the wound.

The blood that stained the bandage was the rusty red of old, dried blood.

"Your bandage needs to be changed," Prim said. "It'll get infected if you keep this one on."

She observed the bandage, turning Peeta's arm in her hands to do so.

"This is the only bandage we had," Peeta admitted with a surprising lack of embarrassment.

Katniss raised one eyebrow. Bandages weren't much of a luxury item. Even if one couldn't afford them, it was relatively easy to make them from old clothing scraps. She'd never heard of someone keeping one on for too long because they hadn't had any clean ones to spare.

"We have some at home," Prim said with a bright smile. "I can fix your arm up for you. I think we have some antibiotic, too, that I could use. Mom used some of it the other day on a bite that Lady got."

Despite the nastiness of the wound—it wasn't a simple papercut by any stretch—Prim looked gleeful at the idea of having a real, human patient.

"That would be nice. Thank you," Peeta said, though he had finally begun to look embarrassed.

"What happened?" Prim asked as they began making their way to the Seam.

Her eyes were wide and eager to hear his story. She trailed closer to his side than usual as she monitored him for signs that his condition was more serious than she had been able to ascertain in her first inspection.

Peeta glanced away from her, his lips tightening for a fraction of a second before his smile returned.

"We were watching the Quarter Quell announcement, and my mom was working. When she heard the news, she got a bit, uh, emotional. She… Well, she ended up throwing the knife she was holding. She meant to hit the TV, but she's never had reason to develop an accurate aim, so, well, this happened."

He motioned at his arm, and Katniss and Prim both followed his gaze. Bile rose in Katniss' throat, while Prim's mouth dropped open in shock.

"It's not a big deal," Peeta hastened to add. "It'll heal quickly enough. It wasn't even that painful. We've all slipped up a time or two with knives in the bakery."

Images of the scene flashed through Katniss' mind as if she'd been there: Mrs. Mellark red faced and sweaty as she always was from the heat of the ovens and her own anger. She'd started shouting at the television, letting a knife fly from her hands while paying no attention to where her son stood.

Or maybe she had. Maybe she'd hit exactly who she'd been aiming for.

"It is a big deal," Prim said. "Katniss has only cut herself like this once, and she uses knives all the time. And that time wasn't even with a knife."

Peeta's eyebrows raised.

"What did you cut yourself on then?" he asked Katniss.

"One of Gale's traps," she admitted, grimacing at the memory. It had been the most pain she'd felt in such a sudden rush. The steady build of hunger pains hadn't prepared her for it. "It closed on my hand while I was setting it. That's usually Gale's job. He's better at it."

It had been the result of a stupid mistake on her part, but she didn't go into detail about that.

Peeta winced, looking too sympathetic for the one who had a bloody bandage wrapped around his arm.

"I'm sorry," he said, which Katniss shrugged off.

"I'm fine. I'd be more worried about yourself."

"Peeta will be fine too," Prim said in a tone that managed to sound comforting to Peeta and reproachful to Katniss all at once. "He just needs some medicine."

When they reached their house, Prim hurried through the door, tugging Peeta behind her. He glanced back at Katniss in amusement, and she couldn't help but grin at him.

Mrs. Everdeen raised an eyebrow when she saw the boy that her youngest daughter had dragged into the house.

"Mrs. Everdeen," he greeted, tilting his head towards her.

"Mr. Mellark," Mrs. Everdeen replied, mimicking his tone while adding a small grin.

Katniss watched Peeta until Prim instructed him to sit on her and Katniss' bed. She blushed such a deep red that she turned to hide her face from Peeta's view.

She heard her mom's quiet chuckle from beside her, but she ignored it as she busied herself with unnecessarily unloading everything in her backpack onto their wooden table. She watched Prim retrieve their first aid kit from the corner of her eye, and she willed the heat to go away as Prim began removing the bandages.

Both Prim and Peeta hissed when Peeta's wound was exposed. Katniss turned, letting the textbook in her hands fall to the tabletop with a thud.

Katniss' eyes widened as she inspected the cut for herself. It looked deep, even from the other side of the house. Peeta grew self-conscious in a way he hadn't been when the cut had been hidden beneath the bandage, twisting his arm so it couldn't be easily seen.

"It's bleeding again," Prim said. "Just a little."

She pressed a cloth onto the cut to stop the bleeding. Peeta winced at the contact before taking a deep breath and bracing himself.

"It doesn't look infected," Prim told him, "so that's a good thing at least. If I can put some antibiotic on it and a clean bandage, you should be fine."

She rummaged through in the first aid kit, pulling out a small jar. Opening it, she peered inside, judging how much was left and how much would be needed.

"There's plenty," she said loudly enough to ensure that both her mother and Katniss had heard her.

Prim went over to the sink and washed her hands. Coming back to Peeta, she peeled away the cloth, dipped her fingers into the ointment jar, and began spreading a generous amount of it onto Peeta's wound.

Peeta winced as the medicine reacted on his skin, but his shoulders drooped a second later, the wrinkles in his brow softening out.

"Thank you," he said as Prim wrapped a fresh bandage around the wound.

"It's not a big deal," she said. "I love healing people."

Peeta smiled at her. Katniss felt her heart skip a beat as she looked on, and she shifted, uncomfortable with the feeling. She heard her mom let out another quiet chuckle, and she shot her a sharp glance. Mrs. Everdeen wasn't looking at her, though; she was also observing Peeta and Prim.

"Here are some bandages," Prim said, handing over what store-bought, disposable bandages they had to Peeta along with some tape to fasten them in place. "You'll want to change it if it becomes damp. I'd say at least a few times a day for now to be safe, but if the bandage has drainage when you remove it, then you can start doing it more often.

"Is there someone at home who can help you with it? It's hard to wrap a bandage with only one available hand."

Peeta winced before arranging his features into a look of near indifference.

"It'll be fine," he said.

Prim looked at him for a moment.

"I can do it," she said. "We can meet before and after school at least. But you can keep the bandages in case you need them."

Peeta gave her a small smile.

"Thank you," he said. "I'm honored to have you as my doctor, Miss Everdeen."

Prim blushed. Katniss had never seen her do that before.

If Peeta hadn't already had Prim in the palm of his hand, he'd sealed the deal.

"I should be going," he said, standing up. "My mom's expecting me at the bakery."

There was a sense of urgency when he mentioned his mother. His whole demeanor stiffened.

"Thank you again," he said when he'd reached the door.

He looked at Katniss, and though he tried to smile, it was strained when he saw the worry Katniss hadn't been able to disguise. As Peeta nodded at her awkwardly and walked through the door, Katniss was left staring after him.