:DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ' THE HUNGER GAMES':
:IT BELONGS TO SUZANNE COLLINS:
Twenty
"Katniss, time to go!" Peeta calls downstairs. It's half an hour until the hovercraft flies and I'm gathering the last things we might have forgotten to pack.
"I'll be right down." I call after him. I take one last sweep through the room before I go down. I need to find those extra pills. When I told Peeta to pack pills, he put about four or five in his bag. I gather that he takes it one in a while rather than everyday. I feel my way through the top shelf of one of Peeta's cabinets and finally grip the box that contains the pills. I put it in my purse and come downstairs.
"Okay, let's go." He says. He pulls both our suitcases through the door where First Officer Dixon waits. He takes our stuff and hands it to the driver who will bring us to the hangar.
"Morning, Officer." Says Peeta as he shakes his hand.
"Good morning, Soldier Mellark." He answers.
"Good day, Soldier Mellark." He greats me and we shake as well.
We are lead into the car and its starts moving. Two days ago, the Seam was a pile of stones. Today, foundations are starting to sprout. We left Denver in charge of the team and put our trust in Haymitch that he will oversee the project if he has the time.
"How long is the flight?" asks Peeta when we are seated inside the car.
"About one and a half days, at the least." Dixon answers.
"The trip with Effie took at the most, half an hour!" I exclaim. More than a day to get to District One? How can that be when so little time was spent on flying to the Capitol?
"The route taken for Capitol events is exclusive to that only." He answers.
"Can't we change the route?" I ask
"No, ma'am. I am sorry, Mrs. Mellark but laws are set and followed strictly especially on air." He answers me.
I'm about to retort when Peeta squeezes my hand. "Alright." he answers for me and ends the conversation.
The car pulls to a stop and the driver gathers our belongings and Dixon leads us to the craft. We enter and I realize that the craft is the exact replica of the ones we rode when we were taken to the arena. I ignore those memories and hold on to Peeta's hand, willing myself not to fall over. We meet Captain Harren who will fly the craft alongside her first officer, Dixon. We share greetings and the doors close and the engines ignite.
There are only four people on the hovercraft. The Captain and her right hand man and Peeta and I. We go into our rooms and I lay on the bed. We don't bother unpacking even though the trip will be longer than expected. I make a mistake of tossing my purse to the couch and the pills shake.
"Are those my pills?" asks Peeta. I try to think of an excuse but I decide on just telling him the truth.
"I thought that it would be better if you took the pills daily." I say to him.
"Why?"
"It would be safer. For both of us." I can't tell him the real reason, I just can't. It might set him off and then get out of control. He doesn't need to know about his sickness, not now. Maybe not ever.
"Alright." He says with a sigh
"Alright?" I ask, testing him.
"Sure, Katniss. If you think it would be better then so be it. Dr. Aurelius did recommend it." He presses a button on the end table on his side of the bed and a bottle of water comes shooting up from the delivery tube. He reaches in his pockets and produces a bag and brings out one of the red pills. He pops it in his mouth and drinks it down with the water. He pours the pill from the bag into the box.
"Thanks." I tell him and put the box on one of the coffee tables.
"Its crazy isn't it?" he says laughing.
"What?" I ask
"Well, the last time we were in a hovercraft like this, we were heading to the Arena. And now, we're back but the difference is that we're married and we're not going to any sort of Arena." He laughs a little and sits next to me on the bed.
"I never thought we'd live this long." I tell him and laugh too. "I always thought I'd die of hunger or knife to the throat."
"I always thought I'd die of burning the bread or some sickness." When he says it, I take a hard grip on his shoulder as if Death was knocking on our room door.
"What is it?" he asks, hurting. I loosen my grip and shake my head.
"Nothing I, I just don't want you to die to soon." I say quietly. He rubs his shoulder. He smiles down at me at kisses my forehead.
"Don't worry, I won't be gone in a long time. I won't do that to you, not again." I hug him close and whisper, "Promise me you'll take the pills everyday. Just to be safe?"
"I promise."
We spend the rest of the day vegetating in our room since there's really nothing else to do. Everything we need and want is at the press of a button. We don't talk to Harren or Dixon since they don't really leave the cockpit, as they shouldn't.
During the night, we lay on the bed holding each other close we kiss once in a while but most of the time, we talk.
"Would you have done things differently if you knew I'd be sick forever?" He asks me in the darkness.
"No." I tell him. His arms are wrapped around my stomach and the back of my head rests on his chest as we both look out the window, watching the dark clouds swoop by the craft.
"I would have." He says. I turn and face Peeta, "Why would you say that?"
"I keep on thinking that you deserve better, some one who can take care of you. Some one you won't need to take care of."
"Stop this. We're a team, you and I, ever since the beginning. Remember? You took my hand in that carriage in our first games, since then, we've been unbeatable. We're supposed to take care of each other, not just you for me. You're the one I deserve, no one else." I give him a kiss and I feel him smile.
I rest my head back on his chest and count the beats of his heart. I fall asleep to the steady rhythm of the pounding that keeps Peeta alive and mine.
I am back in the meadow. The little girl has grown taller and her dark curls are longer. She sits next to me and she's telling a story but I can't hear her. The boy comes falling from the tree above us and falls lightly on his feet. He is laughing but I don't hear a single breath. He swipes his golden hair away from his eyes and calls out to me, but I don't hear my name.
Peeta comes to view and his voice I can hear.
"Real or not real?" he asks.
My eyes suddenly open and I am greeted by the moonlight that streams through the window. Peeta is still sleeping soundly. I quietly move to the bathroom and splash my face with water. One question remains in my mind, "What would I have answered, real or not real?"