'There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.'

-John Lennon

Peeta

Truthfully, I still feel horrible about what I put Katniss through. I know she understands my motivations, but that doesn't change the fact that I terrified my wife. She's absolutely right. We have to think about both of us when we make decisions.

Camp was fairly quiet this morning, everyone tired from the long climb yesterday. Not to mention the hubbub of the rescue and the argument at dinner. Gale hasn't said a word in our presence, in fact he won't even look in our direction.

We pack up and head out, descending to ABC. After that, we have to continue descending all the way back to Base Camp before we're fully acclimated and we can begin the summit push. I find myself still incredibly excited about the summit push, but I'm even more excited about my new wife.

"Come on," Katniss sighs next to me. "Let's go, Peeta."

I nod dutifully and we clip into the fixed line. We're the first team out of camp. Katniss has been unusually quiet all morning. I thought we'd resolved everything last night, especially with the world-rocking sex we had in our tent. But when we woke up today, Katniss didn't seem overly happy. She's not ignoring me or anything, but she's not acting like she was when we climbed up. In fact, she hasn't really looked at me since we were in the tent when we woke up. I feel like there's an invisible wall between us.

I debate in my head as we begin the descent whether or not to say anything. On one hand, I'm her husband and I should try and help her. On the other, I know there's a pretty good possibility she doesn't want to talk about whatever's bothering her, and me prodding her will only cause the hole I'm currently in to get deeper. After a while of going back and forth, I begin to get angry at her. She should tell me what's going on. That's what husbands are for, right? Instead she's giving me the silent treatment, and it's starting to really piss me off.

"Slow down, Peeta!" Katniss scolds from behind me.

While I was stuck in my head, I started descending fast, and Katniss is having trouble keeping up with me. I stop and turn to wait for her to reach me.

"Sorry," I mutter when she's close.

"It's fine," she almost snaps.

I sigh and turn back around, making sure I set an even pace.

We make good time as we pass Camp Two an head down to the Col. Halfway down the snow slope we stop for a break. Katniss plops down next to me and we both hydrate.

"What's wrong Peeta?" Katniss quietly asks. It's the first thing either of us has said in over an hour.

"Nothing," I quickly reply, not looking at her.

I hear her sigh heavily.

When I turn to look at her, the look on her face shatters my heart. She's silently crying, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. I've never seen her look so needy, so vulnerable.

"Are you – are you -," she stutters, swallowing. "Are you mad at me? You are, aren't you? Please don't leave me, Peeta. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She breaks down and covers her face with her hands as she loudly sobs.

I'm stunned by her sudden outburst, at how she's fearing the worst.

"Why are you sorry?" I gently ask.

She looks up through her hands at me, her eyes bloodshot.

"I yelled at you yesterday," she whispers painfully. "I was a bitch to you this morning."

I chuckle softly, shaking my head slightly in disbelief.

"So you think I'm going to leave you because you got mad at me for almost dying?" I ask her with a small smile.

She shrugs helplessly.

"Hey," I coax, reaching up and tenderly moving her hands away from her face. "Listen, I don't know where I'll be in a year, or what I'll be doing. But I do know that I want you by my side no matter what happens. You are my wife. Do you know what I was thinking when you were yelling at me yesterday?" She shakes her head in the negative. "Well, I was thinking how amazing it is to have someone care so much about me that they react like that. I was also thinking how hot you are when you're angry." She chuckles through her tears.

"So you're not mad at me?" She asks in a tiny, childlike voice.

"No baby, I'm just a little annoyed. I didn't know why you were acting so strange this morning, so I was giving you time to yourself. I didn't mean for it to come off as ignoring or being mad at you. It's just that when you wouldn't even look at me or talk to me, I didn't know what I'd done to cause it, and I got myself into a bad mood over it."

"I guess it just all really hit me this morning," she explains. "For the first time in my life, I have someone I love so much that their death would mean the end of me. I can't live without you, Peeta. If I wasn't also a climber, I'd probably ban you from ever climbing a mountain again."

I smile at her words, realizing that she was worried, not angry.

"Now having said that," she continues, and from her tone I know my wife is back, "what I said yesterday still applies, Mr. Mellark. I will completely cut you off if you attempt anything like that without my express permission ever again."

"You really think you could survive cutting me off?" I smirk.

"Don't tempt me," she warns with a grin. "I always have my fingers." She holds up her hands and wiggles her digits.

I grab her hand and quickly bring it to my mouth, sensually sucking her fingers. She lets out a soft moan. Then I pull it down to my crotch and put it right over the bulge in my pants.

"Still think you could make it?" I tease.

Suddenly I feel her hand press harder into my pants, and as she starts arousing me, she slowly begins stroking.

"Kat…," I warn.

She smiles wide.

"Yes, Peeta?" She asks, giving me her very best innocent face.

"Please," I croak.

"Please what? Please stop or please keep going?" She taunts.

"I honestly don't know," I groan and she giggles.

I take action, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her into my lap. We both took our packs off when we sat down.

"Really, Mr. Mellark? Right here? It's a little exposed, no?"

"You're evil," I whisper as I softly kiss her ear.

"If you keep kissing me like that, we're going to give anyone down at ABC with a telescopic lens quite a show," she moans.

Before I completely stop, I quickly dart my hand around her torso and before she can stop me, slide my hand under her pants. I quickly feel her panties, going under those as well.

When I slip two fingers into her, she groans loudly and buries her face in my neck.

"So not fair," she mumbles.

I pump into her a few times before I retract my hand. I grab her hips again and lift her off my lap.

"Let's get going," I say nonchalantly as I grab my pack.

I stand up and look down at my wife. She's still right where I placed her, a glazed over look on her face.

I chuckle and hold my hand out for her. After a moment, she snaps back to reality and grabs it. I help pull her to her feet as she slings her pack over her shoulders.

"Ready?" I ask with a grin.

"Peeta," she whispers seriously, "if we don't get the hell back to ABC quickly I'm going to drag you into any random tent at the Col and fuck your brains out."

"Sounds like a plan honey," I smirk, lean in and kiss her, then turn to start descending again.

"You can't kiss me like that then just walk away!" She protests.

I laugh and I hear her echo it.

"You know Kat, your threat doesn't make me want to hurry to ABC," I smile. "In fact, I'm quite tempted to take you up on your offer when we reach the Col."

By now she's begun descending with me.

"Think we could get away with it?" She conspiratorially asks.

"Maybe," I ponder. "But once we get to the Col it won't really take us all that long to get back down to ABC."

"You're right," she admits. "Plus I'm kind of looking forward to how the camp reacts to your high mountain rescue."

I sigh and we make our way down.

Katniss

This morning proved how inexperienced I am with relationships. Not only is this the first one I've ever had, I'm now married. I didn't know how to deal with my emotions, so I did what I do best. Became a cold bitch.

Then, when we started the climb down, Peeta wouldn't even look at me. It's probably the longest we've ever gone without talking, and it absolutely tore me up.

I know that marrying Peeta is the best decision of my life, but I also realize that our marriage won't always be easy, that we won't always be on our honeymoon. We're people after all, and people disagree. People argue. People get pissed at each other. I've been working on my temper, but I'm still pretty short-fused. Peeta, of course, understands this and helps me deal with it.

As the silence between us became unbearable, my mind went into overdrive. All my insecurities bubbled to the surface. Peeta doesn't want me. He's finally realized what I really am and he's regretting marrying me. He's going to leave because of my stupidity. Logically, I know Peeta would never do that, but my fragile state doesn't allow me believe it.

Finally, I worked up the courage to confront him. It was tough, but I soon found out it was needed. We were both worrying for pretty much nothing. We both were ticked at each other, and we were just making it worse by not communicating.

It felt like a hundred pound weight lifted off my heart when we talked it out and went back to the giddy, happy, horny newlyweds that we are. I found that, when we actually do communicate, we can really work anything out fairly quickly and painlessly.

We're almost back to ABC, and Peeta's holding my hand tightly as we hike together. Even that small contact makes me feel safe, wanted, needed.

When we passed through Camp Two on the Col, everyone we encountered stopped us and praised my husband. They called him a hero, the bravest climber they've ever seen, and a myriad of other awestruck compliments. I stood next to him politely listening, and my pride grew by the second. Peeta, of course, keeps trying to downplay the entire incident, but I won't let him.

"They're right, you know," I tell him as we approach ABC.

"Who's right about what?" He asks.

I chuckle.

"You can be so clueless sometimes baby," I smile. "Everyone we talked to up there. Everything they said about you is true, one hundred percent verified."

He opens his mouth to protest, but I immediately glare at him, and he closes it.

"Honey I know you're as humble as can be, and you never do the things you do because you want accolades or recognition. But no matter what you may think, you are a hero. You saved a man's life yesterday, and you could have easily died trying. You knew that going in, and you still went. That's courage. That's bravery in the face of danger. I've never been more proud to have the absolute privilege of being your wife."

I can tell he's processing by the consternated look on his face.

"Hey Peeta?"

"Yes Kat?"

"I want you to tell me about all the other times you've done something like that. Don't try to tell me I already know them all, because we both know that's a crock of shit."

"I'll tell you later, when we go to bed," he agrees quietly.

"Thank you," I smile wide and give him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Now come on, let's go see how many people know about my heroic husband."

We enter the outskirts of ABC, still holding hands, and head towards the command tent to check in with Haymitch.

"Peeta!"

We both turn and see one of the Americans from the other team. I think his name is Mark, but I'm not really sure.

"Hey Mark," Peeta greets. I was right.

"Dude is it true you saved Hawthorne's life yesterday?" Mark asks excitedly.

"It's true," I speak for Peeta. "It was amazing, Mark. The bravest thing I've ever seen."

"That's incredible," Mark replies in awe. "What we heard is he was sliding down the mountain and couldn't arrest, so you slid down after him, clipped yourselves together, and arrested both of you."

"That's exactly what happened," I beam, the perfect portrait of a doting, loving wife.

"Wow. I've never even heard of a rescue like that," Mark shakes his head in disbelief.

"I'm just glad Gale's alright," Peeta says quietly.

"Well I just wanted to tell you that we all think you're awesome Peeta," Mark explains. "Don't be surprised if this story spreads far and wide. It's certainly the most daring, selfless rescue I've ever heard of."

"Thanks, Mark," I say for both of us as we start to walk again. "We'll see you later."

"Bye!" He calls over his shoulder.

"If it's going to be like this with everyone we come across, I'm going to get sick of it pretty quick," Peeta mutters.

"We could always just make flyers or brochures and pass them out," I joke. "That way we don't have to keep reciting it, they can just read about it."

He laughs and I'm glad I brightened his mood a bit.

"Thanks, Kat. I wouldn't be able to do any of this without you," he sincerely says.

"I'm sure you would get by just fine," I protest.

"Maybe," he admits, "but the difference is I want you next to me."

"You don't want me under you? Or on top of you?" I tease.

"You have a dirty mind, Mrs. Mellark," he grins as we approach the command tent.

"Are you going to punish me?" I bat my eyelashes.

"Oh god yes," he smiles wide.

"Later," I whisper in his ear as we enter the tent. He blushes deeply.

"What are you so worked up about?" Haymitch gruffly asks Peeta.

"What do you think Haymitch?" I shoot back. "We're newlyweds. Figure it out."

"Good god sweetheart, I really don't need to think about that, ever," Haymitch says regretfully.

"Well obviously we made it to camp," Peeta tries to change the subject.

"Good job you two," Haymitch applauds us. "I'm sure you've noticed, but the story of the rescue has spread all over camp and up the mountain. I even got a call from a friend on the South Side asking if it was true."

"No way, really?" I ask incredulously.

"Yep," Haymitch nods. "You're famous, kid. A living legend."

Peeta just shakes his head, but I think he's finally either ready to accept praise, or he just knows I'll get pissed if he tries to brush it off one more time.

"When are we going to Base Camp?" Peeta asks.

"Well since it's just a hike really, you can leave anytime between now and tomorrow morning," Haymitch answers.

"Thanks," Peeta replies.

We leave the command tent and Haymitch yells one last barb, saying that maybe now I'll let Peeta be the man in the relationship.

"Come by our tent after the sun goes down," I yell back. "You'll see just how much of a man my husband is."

Peeta blushes again, and I give him a kiss on the lips for being so darn cute.

We head to the mess tent, since it's almost lunchtime. As predicted, the Sherpas are in sheer awe of Peeta. Most of the famous, spectacular rescues on Everest involve Sherpas one way or another. They insist on refusing to let us serve ourselves, and present us with the very best of what they've cooked. As we eat, we continue chatting with the Sherpas.

Finnick and Annie appear right as we're about to leave.

"Hey guys," Peeta greets them.

"Well if isn't the Mellarks," Finnick grins. "You're getting to be more famous than us," he jokes.

"It's not my fault there's no sixteen screen cinema on Everest," Peeta jokes back.

We all share a laugh and go our separate ways, planning to meet up again around dinnertime to eat together.

"When do you want to leave for Base Camp?" Peeta asks me as we head to our tent to get rid of our packs.

"Whenever you want is good with me."

"We could just go right now," he suggests. "Maybe sleep in a bit tomorrow."

"Should we see if they want to go with us?" I motion back to the mess tent.

"Sure," Peeta says as we turn around to ask the O'Dairs.

They love the idea, so Peeta and I get ready while they finish eating. We help them out by filling up their water bladders and bottles with ours. Soon, the four of us have told Haymitch we're heading down, and we hike out of ABC.

Peeta

I didn't miss the glint in my wife's eyes when I suggested we head to Base Camp. To her, sleeping in just means we stayed up for an inordinate amount of time, doing what newlyweds do best.

I can't say I'm opposed to the idea in the slightest.

We hike as a group, talking and joking around. They continue teasing us about anything and everything. Katniss, however, has gotten pretty good at teasing back, and more often than not she has the last word.

We pass more climbers heading up to ABC, and almost all of them stop to talk to us, freaking out when they realize it's me.

Katniss takes control, speaking on behalf of us, as I've grown tired of repeating the same thing over and over. Either she doesn't mind, or she's just biting the bullet for both of us.

It's around a twelve-mile hike back to Base Camp, so after about an hour and a half we stop for a break. When I glance back up towards ABC, I see Johanna and Gale not too far behind us, heading the same way we are.

"There's the rest of the team," I point them out.

"Should we wait for them?" Annie asks the group.

"Yeah. Why not?" I surprise everyone by agreeing.

Katniss snuggles into my side and I wrap her up in my arms as we wait for them.

They reach us in short order and we rest for a few more minutes.

"How was your descent?" Katniss asks them, not signaling who's she's asking of the two of them.

"It was good," Johanna reports.

"Were you okay?" Annie asks Gale directly. "You didn't get hurt yesterday, right?"

"I'm fine," Gale says quietly. "Thanks, Annie."

"Shall we get moving?" Finnick suggests.

"Wait," Gale pipes up. Finnick sits back down.

"I owe you both an apology," Gale starts, looking between Katniss and me. "You saved my life, and I'm very grateful. I realize what that means considering how I've treated you since you got here. I just want to say thank you."

I'm stunned, as is Katniss and everyone else. Gale spoke quietly but with obvious sincerity in his voice. I even sense a bit of regret, remorse.

"What do you have to say to Katniss?" Johanna nudges him on.

"I owe you apologies for a lot of things," he admits to me, "starting with what happened on Denali."

"It was years ago," I respond gently.

"I know," Gale nods slowly. "But that doesn't change what happened. I abandoned you, and you have every right to hate me for it. My ego and selfishness took over and all I could see was the summit. I failed you as a friend and a climbing partner. I didn't want to believe I'd done something wrong for the longest time, and that's unacceptable."

"What else?" Johanna keeps nudging.

"I've been terrible to both of you, a real asshole," he explains somberly. "I think it's obvious that I let my jealousy cloud my judgment, and I lashed out at you guys. I still was angry with Katniss for leaving our partnership. When you two got together, I was convinced that she should be with me instead. I have always had feelings for Katniss, so I hated the fact that I never acted on them when we were partners, and it enraged me to see you so happy with another man."

"Gale," Katniss sighs. "It means a lot that you are able to see how you've acted, and I know you're being sincere, but you've really hurt me. I've never felt so alone as I did when you turned around and left me on the side of Denali. When you kept hurling insults at us when we got here, refusing to let me be happy with my husband, you hurt me even more. I once considered you one of my closest friends. I trusted you with my life every day we climbed together. I'm sorry Gale, but no amount of apologizing will ever make me completely forgive you for any of it."

"I understand," he replies sadly. I can't tell if he's actually disappointed, or if he's trying to pull the pity card.

"I can forgive you for everything you said about me," I tell him. "But I can't forget about the things you've said about my wife. Some of the names you've called her. I hope we can all exist on this team relatively harmoniously, because whether we like it or not, we're stuck together."

He just nods.

As we stand back up and start back towards Base Camp, Katniss latches on to my hand almost frantically. Her grip is tighter than I can ever remember it being.

"Well that was a surprise," she remarks as we continue on our journey.

Katniss

I don't know what to think. On one hand, I'm relieved Gale has at least started to apologize for his actions. On the other, I think it's far too little far too late. I'm going to have to wait until we're alone to talk through it with my husband.

As we continue hiking, Peeta and I take the lead. Johanna appears next to me after a few minutes. I glance back and see that Gale is far enough behind that he can't hear what we say.

"What did you say to him between last night and now?" I ask her curiously.

"I told him he's a jackass," she shrugs, "and that even though he's tried at every opportunity to make your lives a living hell, Peeta still risked his life without a second thought to save him. Eventually I got so worked up that I berated him pretty harshly."

"Well I guess it worked," I give her a small smile.

"We'll see," she replies. "I've yet to decide whether he's actually being truthful or if he's just trying to get me off his back and look good in front of everyone."

"Wouldn't surprise me if that's exactly what he's doing," I add.

"We'll talk more about this later," Johanna says as she stops to wait for Gale. Peeta and I continue on.

Once we reach Base Camp, we all split up to find our tents and settle in a bit before dinner. Peeta and I lie down in our tent, and I prop my chin on his chest as I melt into his side. I feel his arm rubbing slow circles on my lower back under my shirt.

"Tell me a story," I request.

"Okay," he chuckles. "What kind of story?"

"You know what I want to hear," I reply.

He sighs and nods apprehensively.

"Yesterday wasn't the closest I've come to dying," he whispers. I can already tell this is hard for him, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to hear it.

"Tell me," I plead. "Please baby."

"It was almost five years ago," he begins. "I was climbing the North Face of the Eiger."

I'm already fearing what's to come. The North Face of the Eiger is infamous for being an incredibly dangerous, harrowing, deadly climb.

"I was on a traverse when I heard 'ROCK!' from high above me. I knew to not look up, so I hugged the wall as tight as I could and prayed. I was wearing a helmet, and that helped make me feel a tiny bit safer. Well, the next thing I know, I feel a large rock fall right on top of my helmet, cracking it. I lost my balance and my hands slipped from their holds. I was on a safety line, of course, but I fell so hard and fast it ripped the cam right out of the face."

"Oh my god," I gasp. I don't know when it started, but I realize I'm softly crying listening to his story.

"I could see the end of the rope not attached to anything pretty clearly. I accepted my fate. I was going to fall to my death, and there was nothing that could be done about it."

"Baby you don't have to continue if you don't want to," I gently assure him. He's become highly emotional while he recounts his experience, and I can tell he's struggling, remembering his brush with death.

"No, I want you to know this. You should know everything," he says adamantly.

"Thank you," I whisper.

"I probably fell about two hundred feet, and I was falling straight down, mere inches from the wall. If I'd tried to reach out and grab ahold of something, I probably would have ripped my arm right out of its socket. Then, all of the sudden, I abruptly stopped falling and banged right into the face. I could feel an enormous amount of tension on the rope that was still attached to my harness. I quickly found foot and handholds, and steadied myself. It took me a minute to come to terms with the fact that I was still alive. Finally, I looked up, and I saw what had stopped me. There were three people on a wide ledge above me. They saw me fall, and immediately grabbed onto the rope and all three of them held on as tight as they could, risking their own lives. Luckily, they were pretty strong, and the guy furthest back had found a small outcropping to anchor himself in."

I burst into full-blown tears and bury my face into his neck. I can hear him sobbing as well as he gently strokes my hair.

"Shhh," he coos gently. "I'm here, Kat. I'm alive. They saved me."

"I almost lost you before we even had a chance to be together," I cry, my voice hitches with my emotions.

"But you didn't," he whispers. "I'm right here. Feel," he coaxes. He grabs my left wrist and brings my hand up to his chest, right over his heart. I can feel its strong beat beneath my hand.

"I'm sorry I made you relive that," I whimper.

"I wanted to tell you," he insists. "It's hard, you're right, but if I want anyone to know, it's you."

"I love you so much," I kiss his neck softly.

"I love you more," he kisses my temple.

"Did you meet the guys who saved you?" I ask.

"Yeah," he smiles a bit. "One of them was Finnick," he reveals.

"What!" I exclaim.

"It's true," he assures me. "That's how we met. He saved my life and we finished the climb together. I met Annie when we made it back to camp."

"I'm going to have to thank him," I decide.

"You don't have to do that," he tries.

"Yes, I do," I vehemently disagree. "I want to know the rest of your stories, baby, but right now I really need you to kiss me."

He doesn't hesitate in fulfilling my request, and as we get lost in each other, I come to the conclusion that Finnick was sent there to make sure Peeta made it back to me, even if it took a few years.

Maybe that's just how fate works.

A/N: That was another emotional chapter. Gale apologized, but is he sincere? Or does he have some ulterior motive at play? They've made it back down to Base Camp, and the next time they go up the mountain they're not stopping until they reach the highest point on earth.

Honestly, I highly doubt anyone could be saved the way I described Peeta's ordeal. But it sounded cool, and I needed it to be really, really scary and close to killing him. So let's just pretend, shall we?

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. I'm really happy that so many people are thoroughly enjoying both this story and 'The Truth Revealed'. They're both different in their own ways, but I love writing them.

Have a great night!