I think this is all my fault.

No, wait. That's dumb. It's completely all my fault. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I am the reason Gale Hawthorne is lying in my kitchen being worked on by my mother.

I am the one who didn't listen to Gale when he tried to get me to take him to Cray's.

I am the one who didn't listen to the rumors of a new head Peacekeeper.

And I am the one who let Gale take the fall for me.

Of course, the last one really isn't my fault-pregnancy didn't really give me a choice. Prim's already told me three times that being whipped probably would've lost the baby. I should probably care more than I do, but seeing Gale in so much pain has really fucked with me. I felt every lash on Gale's skin as if it were being branded into my own. Every cry of pain was like a slap in the face. And when he finally passed out, Darius had to hold me up so I didn't faint to the ground. Haymitch finally saved him, mumbling some bullshit to the Peacekeeper about a photo shoot in the Capitol and that Cinna would have his ass if the whipping didn't stop. Whether the guy believed Haymitch or was just bored with whipping Gale, I'm not sure, but he released Gale to us and sent everyone home.

Thom and some of Gale's other buddies from school brought him into the house and my mother immediately went right to work. Whippings and executions aren't mandatory for all citizens of the districts, so she had no news of Gale's whipping until he was brought into the house. Haymitch and Darius dragged me along behind them, trying their best to keep me quiet so I didn't get the lash too.

My mother instructs them to lay Gale on the table, completely getting rid of what was left of his shirt and exposing his mangled body to everyone in the room. The image of his wounds is awful, terrible, disgusting, and forever burned into my mind. Haymitch has to hold tight to my arm so I won't collapse in the kitchen.

Prim starts mixing together a paste made of some of the herbs that Gale brought in yesterday, and I find myself thankful once again that the two of us know how to hunt and gather so well. Gale regained consciousness somewhere between the whipping post and the Victor's Village, but he can't do more than moan in pain every time something moves him.

Every moan is a fresh slap in the face or kick to the ribs.

"Unghh..." he moans, "Katniss..."

My head jerks up at the mention of my name. it's a question of where I am. Regardless of how much pain Gale is in (and at the moment I think it's alot), his first concern is me: if i'm okay, where I am. I break Haymitch's grasp and almost jump across the kitchen to be by his side, but Darius stops me, giving me a hard glance to stay out of the way and let my mother work.

Upon no one answering him, Gale starts to form words and tries to rise from the table. "Where's... Katniss?" he grunts, trying to use his arms to push him off the table, but his arms and shoulders won't support his weight, so he crashes back down to the table, crying out in pain.

"I'm here, Gale!" I call to him, trying again to break Darius's grasp. Gale looks around, but his eyes look glazed over, as if he isn't seeing anything, so I call again. "I'm right here, Gale. I'm perfectly fine." The words appease him, and his head sinks back down to the table, as if he can only be taken care of now that he knows that I am.

"It's ready, Mom!" Prim calls, handing my mother the green paste for the gashes on Gale's back.

She nods and takes the bowl, I unconsciously step forward, not even realizing how close I am until I reach out to grab Gale's hand. My mother's head turns sharply to Haymitch, "Take her out of here."

It doesn't occur that they're talking about me until Haymitch grabs my arm.

"But no!" I shout. "I have to be here!"

My mother takes my shoulder, "It's too much stress for the baby. You aren't just thinking of yourself anymore, Katniss. Go find Hazelle, Rory, Vick, and Posy... Now."

I nod and surrender to Haymitch pulling me. I walk toward the hallway, only turning around to find my coat. Just as I do, my mother applies the green paste to Gale's skin.

"AUGH!" He cries out. She motions for Thom to hold Gale down and keeps applying it, and he keeps screaming in pain, cursing every thing he can.

I lurch forward, "STOP! You're hurting him!" I scream at my mother. "You can't hurt him!"

I keep moving forward, trying to get to him, but Haymitch and Darius put their arms around my waist and carry me outside. Stepping into the night air makes my head spin, so I lean over the side of the porch and violently throw up for a few seconds. I'm honestly surprised I kept it together for as long as I did, and judging by the looks on Haymitch and Darius's faces, they are too. My head starts to swim from all the pressure of what just happened, and I'm honestly glad we're going to see Hazelle. The woman has been a second mother to me for most of my life-she'll know how to handle what just happened.

But when we cross over to the Hawthorne house of the Victor's Village, we don't find anyone. Hazelle and all three of the kids are gone. Whether it's due to hormones or my own logic, i'm not sure, but I immediately start to panic. "C-could they have taken them?" I ask Haymitch.

He shakes his head, "What's the motive? Snow probably knows about your condition, and you two do have a promotional photo shoot in the Capitol next week, so why take away your boyfriend's family?"

He's right. I know he's right. "Maybe we should look around, she might have left Gale a note or something," Darius suggests. I open my mouth to question why he's with us, but I realize that it's probably smarter to be wandering the streets with a Peackeeper rather than without one, so I keep my mouth shut and start looking for a note that Hazelle would've left for Gale.

The living room, kitchen, and den are all spotless, but no notes. I try to think of anything that would've called them away from being home, but my mind is too busy panicking to be very productive.

"Would Rory have gone to the Hob?" Darius asks.

"No," I shake my head. "Gale and I never let him."

Haymitch nods, "Would he have went looking there if you two hadn't come home?"

"Aw hell," I curse.

"I'll go to the Hob and look for him. I'll account for his whereabouts if something is said," Darius offers.

I nod, "I'll go to their house in the Seam. Maybe she went there."

"And I'll go to your house in the Seam," Haymitch adds.

The three of us go our separate ways, and I have to make a conscious effort not to sprint the entire way. Like my mom said, I can't just think about myself anymore. But thinking about the baby just leads to thoughts of Gale, and that is definitely something I don't need right now.

I walk up the steps to the old porch and in spite of everything that's gone on today, I smile. I look to my right and see the chairs Gale and I would sit in after supper, discussing all the hunting we needed to do. Or the porch steps where Gale kissed my cheek the day before he left for the PRA. Even the window where Gale would watch for me and Prim whenever we were due over for dinner. So many memories made in this house-it's almost overwhelming.

I cross the porch and just open the door instead of knocking. It's not a very uncommon thing, since I had to let myself in to wake Gale up on more than one occasion. I look around the living room and I don't see anyone, but I'm still very cautious. I honestly wish I had my bow with me or one of Gale's throwing knives, just so I could protect myself if the wrong people were here.

Gale certainly hasn't let me practice with weapons much since I found out I was pregnant.

I shake my head and walk down the familiar hall to the bedrooms. Since our families moved into the Victor's Village, neither one of our Seam houses have seen much use-save for the random nights Gale and I have spent together. Vick and Rory's bedroom is empty and surprisingly clean-they never had much use for a clean room when they lived here. I chuckle and pick up a random book lying on the floor with a title I don't recognize. Vick is an avid reader, so it's probably just one he forgot.

Hazelle's room is also clean and empty, the dust settling on the shelves and table by the bed. I wonder how long it's been since she's stayed here, but I don't wonder for long, because I can hear someone softly crying from the room Gale and Posy shared. I gently open the door to see Hazelle on Gale's bed, surrounded by the few family photos they have.

Her head snaps up at the sudden intrusion, and my face turns red from interrupting her. But she just smiles and hands me the first family photo the Hawthornes ever had. "It was taken right after Gale was born," Hazelle shows me. It's custom for the Capitol to pay for a family picture each time a baby is born in the districts, so parents can have a photo memory. She sniffles, "He's grown up to be quite the young man."

I nod, "You did a good job with him."

She hands me the next photo, this one with Hazelle, her husband, a baby Rory and a six-year-old Gale. "Aww," I coo. "Rory was such a pretty baby."

"Yes he was," she nods. "Gale was so excited to have a baby in the house that he couldn't contain himself. He'd beg me to feed Rory or to change his diapers or to rock him to sleep-anything to put him near the baby."

"He's certainly excited over ours," I admit, gently rubbing my slightly protruding tummy.

Hazelle nods, handing me the family pictures with Vick and with Posy. "When Radant died, it was almost as if Gale knew exactly what to do. He'd almost mirrored what his father used to do with the younger children every day, and it was no question of him providing for us. He took on the responsibility without me even asking. It was as if one day I woke up and he was already back from the woods with animals for me to cook."

I just nod, listening to her memories of a younger Gale.

"I remember the day he met you," she smiles. "He came home from the woods that morning and he was just so excited for some reason. I couldn't figure out why-he didn't have any more meat than usual, no crazy trades. But he was humming and smiling and finally carefree. It was like he was finally a child again. And then he asked me, 'Mom, can Katniss Everdeen and her sister eat with us tonight? She'll bring more meat to cook.'"

Hazelle just laughs again, "He thought I wouldn't say yes unless you brought food over. I could tell right away, even if the two of you didn't know it yet, but he loved you."

I feel bad for having to break the happiness of her memories, but she needs to know. "Something has happened."

Hazelle cocks an eyebrow at me, "What is it, dear?"

I look at my shoes, suddenly uncomfortable. "I went to trade Cray a turkey by myself today. I didn't realize Cray had been relieved, and the new guy wanted to whip me for it."

"And Gale took your place," Hazelle says with no emotion.

I nod.

"I knew he would do that eventually. I knew one day one of you would get caught and the other wouldn't be able to stand to see hurt." She pauses for a moment and wipes the tears from her eyes, "Where is he?"

"My house. We don't know where Rory, Vick, or Posy are."

She nods again, "Rory went to the Hob, and Vick and Posy are outside playing."

We quickly put on our jackets, grab the kids, and head back for my house.

"Everyone is asleep," I tell Katniss's mother.

She nods and collapses on her bed, "Thank goodness."

I feel sorry for the poor woman, because she's been working nonstop for the last 24 hours to try to fix Gale. The bags under her eyes are heavy, but she looks content, as if she's completed her purpose. I nod to her, "I'll go check on him before I go home. Thanks for everything you've done for him."

She just smiles and collapses next to the little girl. I turn off the lights and shut the door behind me, making my way down the stairs. I wonder what kind of spin the Capitol is going to put on this once they see Gale's scars, or if they're going to react to it at all. The President will probably say something smart assed to Gale to try to provoke him. And if Gale's not careful, he'll be executed.

I cross into the hallway and see a soft light on in the kitchen, which is weird, considering I left the bigger light on when I left the room earlier. I stop short of the door and hear Katniss's voice, "...my sister suggested if it's a girl we name her after your grandmother, it was so old fashioned. What was her name?"

"Olivia? If that's what you want," Gale answers huskily. He chuckles, "I like your father's name for a boy, Aidan."

Katniss giggles, "Olivia or Aiden? I like them. I wonder what little Hawthorne will be like. Think the baby will take after me?"

Gale snorts, "Of course not. And even if he or she does, we can train the baby to act like me in no time." Katniss giggles again, and I can hear Gale's soft laughter too, "Only a few more months and our beautiful baby will be here."

"If I can make it out of the Quell," Katniss sighs. "Even if I do, you won't be here."

I can hear Gale start to get up, but Katniss urges him to lay back down. "I'm getting you home, Catnip. And you'll raise our baby. That's all there is to it."

"I love you, Gale Hawthorne," Katniss sighs again.

He chuckles, "I know, Catnip."

I decide not to intercede on the happy couple any longer and head out the back door to my own house. I was wondering if these two were right for the job and now I'm sure of it. They're already so attached to their baby, and Gale is ready to die for the little thing. This plan I'm putting together is almost complete, now I just need for the right people to hear it. I walk through my house and drop my jacket, picking up the un-bugged telephone, dialing a number I didn't think I'd ever need.

The voice on the other end picks up, "What's the word?" His voice is masculine, troubled, worried. "We heard there was some commotion today."

"There was," I reply. "But don't worry about that now. Get in with the right contacts. We're putting the plan in motion. Get ahold of Odair, Mason, any others you find useful, Heavensbee especially. Talk only in person-no more phone calls. This has to be set up perfectly."

"I understand," Cinna replies.

I hang up the phone and pop open a bottle of liquor, because my work for now is complete.