Thank you all for the reviews! I love each and every one of them! Now, here's chapter 21.

Ivy's POV

As soon as I received Cato's call, I grabbed my medical bag and rushed out the door without explaining to John just where I was going. Cato sent me the address of the Undersee mansion and I couldn't have arrived any faster. The butler answered the door and led me to the tremendous stairs, down the many hallways, and finally into the massive room. My daughter was sitting up in the king sized bed, rubbing her eyes as if she had just awakened. Her beautiful gray eyes narrowed and turned cold when they landed on me, and she wouldn't let me near her.

"Katniss, sweetie, please just let me-"

"I said stay away from me," she growled, cowering closer to the pillows and deeper within the cozy blankets. "And don't call me that."

"Katniss," Madge scolded, sending a pointed look at my daughter.

"Stay out of this, Madge!" Katniss snapped. "I'm not letting this woman anywhere near me."

Truthfully, I understood why she was acting this way. Snow had done a thorough job of making sure she thought I was the ultimate bad guy. It hurt, no doubt about that, but at least I could see where she was coming from.

I turned my attention to the other two teens. "Can I have a moment alone with Katniss please?" I asked, my tone gentle but leaving no room for argument. They both sent me a look that said 'are you sure?' before looking over at Katniss. The girl was sending them a look that clearly begged them to stay.

I could see her boyfriend didn't want to. Madge on the other hand looked to be considering the options before slowly nodding. "Come on, Cato."

Katniss' slightly over protective boyfriend made a move to protest but Madge was dragging him out by his collar.

"Don't worry, we'll just be right out-" was all he got out before Madge yanked him the rest of the way out the door.

Katniss glared at their retreating figures before turning her attention back to me.

"Katniss," I began carefully. "Let me see your knees." She refused, drawing he legs closer to her chest. I sighed before cautiously sitting down beside her. She tensed and I fought the urge to flinch.

My own daughter, flinching even when I only sit next to her.

I reached out and pried her arms off her legs gently. I could feel her eyes watching my every move as I examined the shredded skin.

"Why did you tell her to leave us?" I don't think she meant to ask by the way she just blurted it out. I looked up from her injuries and saw her eyes staring at me blankly. But beyond her guarded walls I could see pain and anger. She looked so lost and it tore my heart in two.

I returned my attention back to her knees, thinking of the best way to answer her as I decided what to do about the injuries. I reached out to my medical bag and pulled out a cream and some bandages. Gently, I applied the ointment on her knees, causing her to jerk away instinctively but I held her in place before placing the bandage around them. Then I looked up to meet her gaze again.

"I didn't tell her to leave you," I said finally. Katniss fisted her hands around the sheets beneath her, clenching her jaw. "She loves you."

"Well she has a funny way of showing it!" she snapped. "If she loved me she wouldn't have left me."

"Your father knew that your mother didn't love him." I explained, no doubt confusing her more.

"So that's why she hated me?" She asked quietly.

"No, Katniss," I said shaking my head. "Your mother loves you, it's just…"

"Just what?" my daughter replied coldly. "She didn't love me enough to take me with her?"

I flinched at that. It hurt me to the core to see her talk about me this way. She had so much anger, so much resentment in her and all directed towards me. I didn't know what she would do when the truth came out. At this point I thought it would harm her more than help her.

"I don't know what your father has told you," I began. "But not everything he said is true."

"Why should I trust you?" Katniss asked.

I moved a hand up to her cheek and she moved away but I tried again and she luckily allowed me. "I made a promise to your mother and to you when you were just a baby to keep you safe."

My daughter continued to look at me blankly but I could see her relax a little more. I removed my hand from her face and she laid down on the bed, wincing and letting out a short breath of pain. I remembered what Cato had told me about each and every one of her injuries, and raised her shirt gently to see several burn there.

I clenched my jaw, my hand hovering over the burns before treating them. She winced when I applied the cream but didn't cry out. "What happened to you?" I asked.

Katniss turned away, not answering my blunt question, and I sighed again. I knew those burns weren't made on accident. Lord knows I've seen my fair share of those. But she wasn't going to tell me and I wouldn't force her, not now that we were having a civil conversation. Once I bandaged her stomach, I saw her eyes droop and I called her friends inside once again.

Cato rushed to her side and instantly held her hand, rubbing soothing circles on it with his thumb. Madge was also by her side, checking to see how she was. I picked up my doctor bag and headed to the door.

"Wait," I heard Katniss call. I turned around to look at her. "Thanks," she whispered. I couldn't help but smile.

Baby steps.

Cato's POV

Soon after Ivy checked my girlfriend's wounds, she fell asleep, still clutching the stuffed bear. Madge and I both stood by her side, making sure she didn't have any nightmares. Eventually we settled down ourselves, it was very late after all. I wasn't going to leave Katniss' side, so I spent the night at Madge's house.

As much as I wanted to, Madge ended up on the bed with Katniss and I took the rugged couch. To be honest I didn't really sleep. I thought about everything that had happened in this eventful night. Katniss had finally opened up about the abuse that went on at home and I knew it had not only physically drained her but emotionally as well. All I could hope is that she would stay strong. I got up, kneeling in front of her and caressed her cheek.

"Madge and I... we'll always be here for you, Katniss," I whispered. "I'll always be here; forever."

Will Katniss ever truly trust her own mother? Or will she always see her as the women who told her mother to leave her in this hell hole? Thanks again to Speedy08 and BG-13!

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