Katniss awoke to a slight pounding in her head. She was in a medium sized room, its walls painted royal purple, and the bed that she found herself laying in was twice, maybe even three times bigger than her own back home. Sitting up slowly, Katniss tried to focus on what she was doing here, wherever 'here' was. After a moment of silence, the memories came flashing back to her.

Clove's pale figure lying on the cold metal stretcher, the swift motion of the knife as it was pulled from her stomach, the metallic stench of blood which overwhelmed the tiny room...and the heart monitor, its stagnant line and the monotonous drawn out beep still ringing in her ears.

Oh god.

Katniss remembered now, and she scrambled out of bed, not noticing the fresh attire that she now wore in place of her sweat and blood drenched arena outfit. She opened the door and practically glided down the hallway. She didn't know where she was headed; she just knew that she had to find her.

Rounding a corner, Katniss collided with someone, and she was about to mutter a quick apology and continue on, but she was startled by his familiar voice.

"Look who's finally up!" Katniss froze and found herself looking into the warm eyes of her best friend. She fell into his embrace and stayed there, floating in his comforting woodsy scent, which was mixed with a lingering floral smell. After a moment she pulled away. She needed answers.

"Gale, where are we?"

"The Capitol. You passed out in that ship and…slipped into a coma. Got out of it, of course, but you were really delirious, so they let you sleep for a while longer. I know this is a lot to process…Do you remember anything?"

Her thoughts raced a mile a minute, but she could not recover that blank page during her coma or its aftermath. She unconsciously ran her fingers over her palm.

"How long was I out?"

Gale hesitated.

"About a week."

She swallowed and nodded slowly, not sure if she wanted to know the answer to her next unavoidable question, but she felt the words leave her lips before she could even contemplate them.

"Did she make it?"

Gale didn't meet her eyes as he spoke:

"I'm sorry, Katniss…"

The brunette turned away and took a deep, shaky breath; she refused to break down just yet.

"Is-is she still here?" Is the body still here?

Gale nodded.

"I want to see her." Her body.

A perplexed expression crossed his face, but in an instant it was gone, and he gestured for her to follow him. As she trailed behind Gale her feet dragged on the floor like a corpse, as if she was already dead.

This can't be happening…Clove can't be dead…she can't not be here.

Katniss tried to deny it but the realization that she would never again see the girl's adorable freckles scrunch up when she smiled, or wake up to her beautiful face, hit her like a ton of bricks. Clove was gone. At that same moment, Gale ceased his steps. They stood in a doorway. Katniss inched forward. She didn't want to see Clove's stiff body, covered by some crinkled white sheet. She didn't want to smell death, the stifling smell of sterilization which covered up the decay. She didn't want to, but she had to. She had to say goodbye.

Gale didn't follow her in as she took her first bleary eyed steps into the room. Hot tears began to spill onto her cheeks even before she saw the girl. She blindly made her way over to where the blurred outline of her body lay and kneeled down, sobs shaking her fragile composure.

"I'm so sorry, Clove. I failed you, I-"

"Katniss?"

She wiped the tears from her eyes and whipped her head towards the doorway. There was no one there. When she turned back, a gasp escaped from her throat when she saw familiar sparkling green eyes looking back at her.

Clove's smile disappeared when she noticed the shocked, aghast expression on Katniss's face. She sat up and reached out, fingers almost touching the brunette's arm before Katniss yanked it away.

"What's wrong?" Clove asked quietly, her voice dripping with hurt from Katniss's harsh action.

Katniss shook her head in sadness and confusion.

"You're dead, I watched you die. This isn't real…" She backed up, still shaking her head. "I'm imagining this, its denial, that's all…"

Katniss kept her eyes off of her as Clove stood up from the bed, mere footsteps separating them.

"Katniss, please, look. Look at me. I'm right here." Clove said, her voice cracking from emotion.

"No, you're not." Katniss said again, still not willing to indulge in her desires by looking at the hallucination. She knew it would only bring temporarily relief, and then Clove would disappear, leaving her even more hurt and empty. She turned around, intent on walking out of the room, but she was stopped by the voice of her dead lover once again.

"I did die, but, I came back. And I know it's hard to believe, but the doctor said that the reason I survived was because of my strong will to live…because I needed to live for you. So don't leave me again, Katniss…Look at me."

The brunette turned away from the door as if in a trance, the potency of Clove's words, even if they were manufactured by her brain, overwhelmed her logic. Their eyes met and a longing moan ripped through Katniss's throat. The girl was still beautiful; her small yet powerfully built body stood enticingly a few lengths away from her. Katniss wanted so desperately to run into her arms and collapse in their strengthening embrace. She blinked back tears and made no move forward, knowing that she would never be able to touch something of her own imagination. Apparently, her mind thought otherwise, as Clove suddenly came closer, stopping when their faces were mere inches apart.

"Why won't you let me say goodbye?" Katniss asked quietly, her bottom lips trembling slightly.

Clove answered by grazing the tips of her fingers across the brunette's cheek, all while staring intensely into her eyes. Katniss gasped at the warm tingle which she felt at the spot where Clove now broke contact.

"You can't say goodbye to someone if they're never leaving." Clove said simply, and before she knew what she was doing, Katniss's lips found those of the girl standing in front of her. Her doubts collapsed, and her legs nearly did, as their lips met. They kissed as if for the first time, deeply and passionately, like the world was ending, but the miracle was….it wasn't.

"You're really here…" The brunette whispered to herself when the seal of their lips broke apart. Before Clove could affirm the statement, she noticed tears beginning to spill from Katniss's eyes and she pulled her in close, hugging her tightly.

"When I asked about you, Gale, he-he said that he was sorry, and I believed him because he's my best friend and he looked so sincere so I just believed that you-you were dead."

Her voice cracked at this last word and Clove held her tighter before once again facing the girl. She kissed away her fragile tears and afterwards licked her own lips, savoring the salty tears but regretting that Katniss had to shed them.

"I'm sure it was just a mix-up…Gale knew I was alive, we sort of ran into each other when he arrived here a few days ago. Let's just say that I wasn't greeted very warmly…But I can tell that he cares about you. Maybe a little too much." she muttered under her breath.

"I don't know, Clove. All I do know is that I walked into this room expecting to see a still body and blue lips, your empty shell…I thought I lost you and it was the scariest moment of my life." Clove slipped her fingers through Katniss's and guided their entwined hands upwards until they rested on Clove's chest.

"I promise you, you'll never be scared again." Clove said this with certainty, and in that moment, Katniss knew that she would never again have to hear the terrible flat lining heart machine that she expected would haunt her dreams. They stood there, together, with no cameras to record their every move, no threat of death lurking around the corner.

It was just them.

Katniss walked toward the bed, hands still linked with Clove, and laid down, Clove taking her lead and resting beside her on the fluffy pillow. Katniss rested her head on Clove's chest and closed her eyes, listening to her strong and steady heart beat.

"Mmm, that feels nice." Katniss sighed as Clove tickled her back softly, while basking in the calm atmosphere surrounding them.

"You would think, since I've been sleeping for almost a week straight, that I would be fairly well rested but," Katniss yawned- "I'm actually exhausted."

"Close your eyes." Clove said, and Katniss easily obeyed, her eyelids closing comfortably.

"Clove?"

"Yes?"

"Don't be jealous of Gale, he's a nice guy. I'll introduce you two properly, later."

Clove grunted a small affirmative gesture but didn't say anything more. She didn't want to think about the boy, but she knew that Katniss only wanted to get off on the right start for the both of them with at least one person. Still, she didn't really like Gale.

"And Clove?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."