Wow this is a very, very long chapter, 9k words holy crap ahah. I hope you all enjoy and please don't forget to review, pretty please the little button hit it lol. Enjoy.
Chapter 25
To Kill a Mocking bird
(Katniss POV)
I looked into Wadera's hateful eyes as he took a step forward, his peacekeepers remained behind him and that dumb bitch Ceal had her hand on her hip and was leaning against a stone wall. She had a look of excitement written across her face and all I wanted to do was smack it off of her. Peeta pushed me farther behind him as Wadera got closer and closer to us. He held out his hands to show us he was unarmed, that we had nothing to be afraid of. Bullshit. He had to of had some kind of weapon on him and if he didn't, those peacekeepers behind him sure as hell did. I didn't trust him and neither did Peeta. He stopped in front of us and smiled at us.
"A meeting is in order. Mockingjay" I tensed up at his words and Peeta pushed me farther and farther behind him, until I was out of Wadera's sight and He was out of my sight.
"Forget the meeting lets kill her" Ceal squeaked from behind him, "You promise I can have Peeta after you kill her."
Wadera rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder. Ceal had moved away from the wall and had both hands on her hip, she stared hard at Wadera, glaring daggers at him. Wadera didn't seem to be too affected by her attitude, his eyes bored into mine with such hatred. He was about to speak again, but Ceal cut him off for the second time today, all she had to do was keep talking and delay his so called meeting with me or whatever the hell it was. Wadera turned his back to us and looked at Ceal and as he did Peeta and I inched towards the steel door leading to the stairs.
"You promised!" She stomped her foot on the ground, "I did everything you asked, Delivered the tape, even help kill those guards that were escorting me to jail, Now you got the keys to the building because of me, Now give me what I want, erase his memories of her. Make him love me." Wadera set his jaw and there was fire in his eyes, he took his eyes off of us completely and took small steps in Ceal's direction. This really wasn't going to end well on her part. Peeta pointed to the exit and I nodded my head, Wadera was distracted and even the peacekeepers had their eyes fixed on Ceal and Wadera. We took another two steps towards the door, waiting for the perfect time to bolt.
"Your ordering me around?" Wadera asked in a deep and threatening voice. He step closer and closer until finally he was towering over her. She would not back down now, she straightened her posture and placed a hand on her hip, flipping her blonde hair back behind her shoulder, the look in Wadera's eyes were the look of pure hatred. He stared at her for a couple of seconds and then without warning, wrapped his hands around her throat. She squealed and started banging on Wadera's tight grip. She glanced over his shoulder and glared at us then at his men. "If they move shoot them" He ordered. There goes our shot at an escape. Wadera turned his attention back to Ceal and began gripping her throat harder. "You don't order me around and I don't owe you shit. They should of killed you when you entered that building, god your so fucking stupid" He picked her up off the ground, she was shaking and crying.
"You saved me from the cops" She choked out, her small fists pounded against Wadera's forearms, but did little damage.
"I didn't save your pathetic ass from anyone I wanted the key to the defense building and it just so happened you were still alive and in their custody."
"Please I"m sorry don't kill me" Ceal pleas. Wadera throws her to the ground, her head bangs off the cement and he calmly walks back over to Peeta and I. My eyes are glued on Ceal's body, there is a pool of blood seeping from her head and I"m not sure if she is alive or dead. As much as I hate the little bitch, this was not what I wanted for her. Apart of me wanted to go over there, kneel beside her and make sure she was okay, but another part of me told me she deserved what she got.
"Now, back to you guys, I have a serious issue with you" He points his long pale finger in my directions. "I came here to make you two a deal" Wadera grins. I step from behind Peeta and wrap my arms around my stomach, protecting my baby from his view.
"You know what I want."
"You want to kill me" I tell him.
"Yes, but I also want to take my rightful place as President. He said when he was dead and gone I'd be next since he had no kids of his own."
"I can't grant you that wish, you'd have to take it up with Paylor, which I don't think that is a good idea since she got a man hunt going on and a thousand dollar reward for your head. I got a proposition for you"
"Oh?" He smiled and folded his hands behind him.
"We both have reasons behind our actions. You want to kill me thats why you attacked me at the hotel room, the party and threatened me in the hospital parking lot. I want things too, I came here to help find a cure to the tracker jacker Venom that your all great and powerful Snow injected Peeta with. I want that... NOW"
Wadera chuckled loudly, so loudly it echoed all around us and into the night. "What makes you think I'd give it to you"
I bite my lip and look over at Peeta. He was staring at me with curious blue eyes. "Because I'll go with you and you can kill me"
"NO!" Peeta screamed, "I won't let you do this Katniss." He grabs hold of my arm as I take a step towards Wadera and pushes me behind him again.
"Let me get this straight your willing to put your life and your unborn baby's life in danger for this man"
"I...I'm not pregnant" I lied.
"Yes you are, don't lie to me."
I closed my eyes and sighed in defeat, he was not supposed to find out about the baby and our big mouths just blurted it out for the entire world to hear. I bite my lip again And tried to remain strong. If I let tears escape my eyes then he would think he was getting to me and prey on my weakness. My hands were shaking, palms sweaty, my unborn baby fluttered inside My stomach and I had an urge to throw up all over the place. Wadera took another step forward until he was in Peeta's face.
"So If I give you this cure, you'll come with me?" Wadera questioned.
I nodded, "Yes"
Wadera took a step back and reached into his coat pocket, pulling a small pink vile from the inside of his jacket. He smirked and waved the bottle in front of our faces, as if he was taunting us with it. That was what we have been searching for this whole time and now there it was, in the hands of a man that hated me for killing his brother, a man that wanted Panem back to the way it was.
"I can't cure the fake memories, he will always have them"
"Huh?" I asked confused. I peered around Peeta and looked him in the eyes.
"The venom is what makes him violent, The venom is coursing through his head and entire body; its slowly but surely killing him, most people we injected the venom with die at a young age, sometimes 30, 20, 25, depends how much they gave you. I'd say you will die in a couple years" Wadera smile and waved the pink vile in front of Peeta's face again, mockingly.
I can't handle this, and I can't picture walking into the bedroom a couple years from now and finding Peeta face down on the mattress, the light leaving his eyes. A few tears escape my eyes and I wrap my hands around the baby. The thought of her growing up without a father sickens me. I can't be like Annie I can't lose him, I'd die. More tears escaped my eyes and Wadera didn't miss them. He chuckled loudly and waved the pink bottle in our faces again.
"You wouldn't want the baby's father to die now would you?" He teased me.
"Just shut up" Peeta snapped.
"The vile for the mockingjay" Wadera tells Peeta.
"I would rather die than let you touch her" Peeta spits.
"Very well" Wadera pretends to drop the vile, but catches it in his hands.
"I'll do it!" I shout.
"No you wont" Peeta shouts back.
Wadera takes a step forward and pushes Peeta out of the way. He stands in front of me and grips my shoulders hard. He moves his hands so they now rest on my stomach. "Big mockingjay and little mockingjay, two for one deal"
"Don't touch my daughter!" Peeta screams and looses it. He comes at Wadera swinging, He catches the vile man off guard and tackles him to the ground by the waist. He then proceeds in straddling his waist and punching him in the mouth, nonstop. Wadera was no weakling though, he throws Peeta off of him and hits him hard in the groin. I watch helpless as the two men pound the shit out of each other. I'm afraid to help Peeta attack Wadera because of the baby. The peacekeepers standing behind Wadera cocked their guns and proceeded in aiming them at Peeta. Their guns are aimed directly at Peeta. If one of them pulls the trigger and shoots Peeta is gone to the world and the baby will have no father.
"No!" I scream and scramble to my feet, I stood in front of Peeta so the bullets would hit me and not him. I would rather go then him. Wadera sees my actions. He throws Peeta off of him again and bolts to my side.
"SHE"S MINE" He screeches.
As soon as they lower their weapons Wadera catches me, placing one strong arm around my waist and the other around my neck. He reaches into his coat pocket and rolls the pink vile in Peeta's direction. "The cure, for the mockingjay" He grins. Peeta tries his hardest to get to me but the three peacekeepers holds him back. I'm fighting Wadera with all my strength, but its no use I can't seem to fight him. The peacekeepers seemed to be having a hard time containing Peeta. Two has ahold of his arms and one has a gun pointed at his face, but yet Peeta still manages to move forward towards me.
"Katniss!" He is close to me now, with all the strength he has he pulls away from the peacekeepers and lunges forward grabbing my face between his strong hands. He kisses me hard, but it doesn't last long because the peacekeepers pull him by the arms again and Wadera pulls me towards the edge of the building. "I love you" Peeta screams.
"I love you" I cry, my words only make Wadera laugh and hit me in the mouth, as if he was scolding me for saying something bad. We are nearing the edge of the building and I can see the quiet city below. So this was it, his big plan was to throw me over the side of the building, have me fall to my death like Cato fell to his. Did he have mutts waiting to devour my lifeless body.
"Sir?" the sound of a peacekeepers voice made Wadera stop dead in his tracks.
"What!" He spat, his grip tightened around my neck and it was suddenly hard to breath.
"What do we do with him" The peacekeeper asked pointing to a struggling Peeta.
Wadera was silent for a moment and then an evil grin spread across his face. "Shoot him"
"No please shoot me" I begged, he ignored me and led me further towards the ledge. "Kill me not him."
Wadera laughed and began mocking me, "No, No, Shoot me, let him live. Hah I will kill you mockingjay slowly, painfully, but right now I want you to watch the light leave your lovers eyes. I want you to watch as I kill the man you eat with, the man that knows you inside out, the man you have sex with, the father of your baby. Watch as I take everything away from you, by just the pull of a trigger."
Suddenly a gush of cool air wipes across my face and in front of us, hovering in midair was one of them large hovercraft. A loud gunshot filled the air, my legs stopped working and tears formed in my eyes. Peeta was dead, The father of my baby was dead. They just shot him I know they did. I want to die too, I want Wadera to kill me now. I can' live without him. I give up my fight and allow him to lead me towards the platform of the hovercraft. Suddenly another gunshot filled the air, followed by three more. Wadera glanced over his shoulder in enough time to see his precious peacekeepers being taken down. A defense squad was on the roof firing at the hovercraft trying to prevent it from taking off into the darkness. I don't care though, let it take off, let Wadera kill me. Peeta's dead, so I might as well be too. I have nothing else to live for. Suddenly a small flutter fills my stomach and my whole world just seemed to have stopped. My baby just fluttered. He is in there, developing waiting to be born. I cry at the fact he has no father now. This was my baby, Peeta's baby and I'll be damn if this man takes my baby boy or girl away from me.
Wadera's hands are still around my neck and waist. We are backing up onto the platform. The squad is nearly on us, they are firing at the hovercraft, trying to knock it out of the air and onto the roof. I have to do something, anything to make him let go of me. I dip my head, take Wadera's skin between my teeth and bite him as hard as I can. He grunts, takes his other hand from around my waist and punches me in the back of the head hard, But I still won't let go of his flesh and its starting to bleed. I finally let go as part of his skin rips, the hovercraft is taking off now, I can hear the roar of the engine. I have to get off now and quick. I let my head fall back and crack him in the nose, he is off of me. I leap from the platform and go flying through the air towards the rooftop cement. It only takes me a split second to realize that I'm going to be landing on my stomach, that their is no stopping it. I think quick and wrap my hands around my stomach, hopefully my arms will take most of the damage and my little baby will only feel a small shake.
The impact is very painful, I land on my arms just like I planned and their is a nasty crunching sound. I've broken it, my head takes a hard blow too and soon everything around me is blurry, the sound of hurried footsteps become distant and suddenly everything becomes black. I don't know Whats going on, I don't know if Wadera killed the squad and is now coming back for me. The last thing I remember is being lifted off the ground.
I don't know what time it is or what year it is, if I'm dead or alive. I'm sitting on a white bench, my entire environment is white and it gives me a sort of comfort and peace to be in a place like this. I stand from the bench and begin to walk, I feel so relax and stress free. This place is incredibly beautiful. I walk for a couple of minutes before stopping as the white figure approaching me catches my eyes. As the figure came into view I became shocked. A little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes came to a stop in front of me, she smiled and gazed up at me with her beautiful ocean blue eyes.
"Hello little girl" I say kindly, kneeling down beside me.
"Hi" She grinned shyly.
"Are you lost?"
She shakes her head and bites her lip, "No, I was playing with the flowers. Their beautiful. Want to see them?"
The little girl giggles and takes hold of my hand, leading me deeper into the unknown. We walk for a couple of minutes until we come to a large field, filled with every single flower known to man. My mouth dropped as I took in its beauty. The little girl giggled again, lets go of my hand and runs through the field of flowers. I followed her watching her blonde braided hair bounce up and down on her shoulders. She rolled around on the ground giggling and laughing as she took in the scent of every flower she can get ahold of.
"The primroses are my favorite." She smiled, "They can be all kinds of colors. Mommy said my auntie was named Primrose."
My heart just stopped beating as the words flew out of her mouth. Was this my daughter? My future daughter? I'm so confused right now. I took a moment to study her features as she began weaving flowers into her hair. I looked at her, really looked at her and my heart fluttered. She was Peeta, the hair, the eyes, the nose, the jaw, lips, ears, smile. She had everything right down to the small amount of freckles. I had to be dreaming, either that or I was dead, I didn't survive the fall and neither did my baby. Was this heaven? Would I be able to see Prim, Cinna, Finnick...My father? Peeta?
"What's your name?"
"Saffra, What's your name?"
"Katniss" I introduced kindly.
She smiles brightly, "That's my mommy's name"
"Where are your parents?" I ask, my heart is sinking to the floor.
"I"m not supposed to go with them yet, its not time." She tells me.
"What are you waiting for?" I ask
"I'm waiting to go home, I'm not big enough yet" She says sadly.
"You don't have to wait, your big enough" I smile and use my free hand to gently tap her on the nose. She giggles and hugs my leg, her tiny little fingers gripping the fabric of my pants. I patted her head, she looks up at me, gives me a loving smile and starts to wander off.
"Wait Saffra where are you going?"
"Nap time" She says and just like that she disappears out of my sight. I run after her, but I cant see nothing in front of her. I yell and reach for her, but nothing comes up and then suddenly I open my eyes and stare at the white ceiling. I became aware that an IV is strapped to my arm and that both of my arms are wrapped in white bandages and they hurt like hell. The IV in my arm was causing me discomfort and I was about to pull it out, but a pair of warm, strong hands stopped me from doing so.
"Don't do that" Came a soft familiar voice.
"Peeta?" I question with tears of joy.
"Who else would it be?" He chuckled.
"Your alive" I cry and lean up from the bed to search for him, his blue eyes meet mine and I lean up more ignoring the pain in my arms. He meets me halfway and we kiss. "I thought they shot you" I cry and kiss him again. I kiss him with so much passion and love that nothing else mattered at that particular moment except for his lips. When our lips break I gasp and my hands went to my stomach. "Saffra?"
"Who?" Peeta asks me looking confused.
"The baby is she okay?"
Peeta sighs, "Yeah, you were both lucky to survive that fall. That honestly was a big jump from the hovercraft to the rooftop. You broke and sprained your arms, left is broken, right is sprained." Thats why I have such unbearable pain in my left arm more than my right. "And Katniss the doctors said you are under so much stress and this much stress is not good for the baby. He said if we don't take some stress off of you now, then you will lose her."
"What happened" I ask in a weak voice.
"A lot. Gale saved my ass. Rend's squad took down the peacekeepers, Wadera had you on that hovercraft We thought we would have to go after you, but then you jumped and blacked out when you hit the ground. I really thought you were dead from the hard hit your head took. Rend shot him."
I smile "He's dead?"
Peeta shakes his head and my smile drops. "He got away, Rend hit his arm. There is something else too" He stands straight up and dips his hand into his jeans pocket, pulling out a small pink vile. My heart pounded in my chest. This was it, this was the cure, at least I hope it was.
"The cure?"
"I don't know, I don't see him being that stupid." Peeta says.
"What are you going to do with it?"
"I don't know," He says and stows the vile away back into his pocket. He glances over his shoulder at the clock, its still really late. "I should probably get going."
I shake my head. "Lay down with me please, stay"
He stands there for a couple of seconds before deciding to kick off his shoes and crawl into the hospital bed with me. I scoot over and make room for him. My head goes to his chest as soon as he lays down and his arms engulf me into a warm hug. We lay there for a long while stroking and kissing each other. He was careful not to bump my arms, which hurt like hell. The door to my room opens and a nurse comes in, flickering on the lights she gazed at both Peeta and I, smiling happily.
"Mr. Mellark so nice of you to stick around for her" The nurse smiled.
"Do I have permission to sleep here with her?" Peeta questions.
"Visiting hours are over, but I'll see what I can do. In the meantime I must give Miss. Everdeen something for the pain" She holds up two tiny blue pills and walks over to the bed with the pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other, "This will help you sleep and make the pain in your arms more tolerable." She hands me a cup and two pills which I easily swallow. She smiles one last time at us and then stalks out of the room to get the head nurses permission for Peeta to stay.
"What are you going to do with that vile?" I asked, rearranging myself in a more comfortable position. I didn't want him to drink the contents, not without knowing for a fact that it was going to help his venom. For all we know it could be more poison. I just don't understand why Wadera would bring something this valuable to us, maybe tonight didn't go as he planned. Maybe he really was planning on kidnapping me and doing god knows what. Did he just expect Peeta to trade me for the medicine? Is that why he brought it? Did he just assume the man that is deeply in love with me would just hand me over. No, Peeta would rather suffer. It just didn't make any sense to bring something that valuable. Peeta must of sense my discomfort because he tightens his hold on me just a little.
"I honestly don't know what to do with it, to tell you the truth, Maybe I could try drinking it" Peeta replies. I look up into his eyes and make a face, of course I don't want him to drink the vile. There could be so many things wrong with it. It came from Wadera and nothing ever good comes from that man.
"Maybe you can have someone inspect it; like your doctor or something."
Peeta shrugs, "Lets not worry about that right now. Get some sleep." He pecks me on the head and I rest my head on his chest, listening to the faint heartbeat. Every beat in that heart is for me and me only. The silence lingered on for a couple of seconds, then I titled my head up and quickly captured his lips with mine in a quick kiss.
"I love you" I mumble randomly in the crock of his neck.
"I love you too" He replies and gently kisses my lips. "Now try to sleep"
"Stay with me"
"Yes" He mutters and kisses me one more time. It didn't take long for me to fall into a peaceful deep sleep. I was hoping My mind would take me to that white room or wherever it was, I wanted to gaze upon that little girl with the blonde hair and pigtail, the little girl that might be my future daughter. I wanted to dream of her and her father instead of blood and guts. I wanted to see their smiles and laughs. For the first time in my entire life I was actually excited that a little girl or boy was growing inside me. I never wanted kids, never had any intentions of falling in love or getting married, but every since he walked into my life things have changed drastically. I love this man so much and I'm going to do everything in my power to help him, but I"m also going to do everything in my power to make sure my little girl can be born into a safe and sweet environment. I'll be damned if that piece of garbage Wadera is going to restore the old capitol. I will be damn if he even lays a finger on my daughter or her father and I'll be damn if he thinks I'll go down without a fight.
(Gale's POV)
My hands are braced tightly against the shower wall and I lean my head forward and allow the water to run easily down the tense muscles in my back. It has been a really rough night with that trash Wadera threatening to kidnap Katniss and Shoot bread boy in the back of his head. He was so lucky the squad came around that corner when they did, he was lucky that I reacted fast and blew the guys head off before the peacekeeper could pull the trigger. He came so close in getting shot in the back of the head. I saved his ass and now he own me one. I saved him for Katniss's sake and her unborn baby. As much as Mellark gets on my nerves I would not want his life to be stolen from him, it would literally crush Katniss into two pieces and I did not want that for her.
I stayed propped up against the wall for a long while, until I heard a small tapping on the door. I shut off the shower knob and pulled back the curtain, reaching for a towel, wrapping it around my waist. I didn't have to try and guest who was on the other side of the door, knocking, making sure it was okay to use the bathroom. I had locked Delly in the room all last night, She was completely mad at me for locking the doors from the outside. I was going to keep her safe and sound from them Peacekeepers and that nasty asshole Wadera. It was about 6 in the morning and I feel like I have been hit by a mac truck, My body aches, I'm freezing and I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I just got off duty, Rend had me and Naomi up on the rooftop all night long, guarding and patrolling (all the while Delly was locked in the room all night and nobody but me knew about it). I wrapped the towel around my waist and pulled the door open.
She was standing there in a nightgown, hair wild, tired eyes. She refused to look at me, but I caught her glance at my large chest a couple times before pushing her way past me and into the bathroom. She has no right to be mad at me for locking her in the room all night, at least she was safe from harm, besides what was she going to do? Fight? Delly could not even punch someone in the face right. I sighed in anger and walked back into the bathroom, the towel still wrapped around my waist. She was in the process of starting a nice luke-warm bath water.
"Really your going to be pissed at me for this?" I frown.
"Do you really think I would be that stupid and would wander off while you guys were in the middle of a fight? You didn't have to lock me in I would of just stayed in here and then afterwards you didn't even come up here and tell me you were alright. I had to spend all last night wondering if someone put a bullet in your head or if my best friend and his girlfriend were even alive. Am I just in the way of everything? Just another person you need to lock away and make sure they don't get in the way?" She is angry with me I can see it in her eyes, although this is nothing new, she is always angry at me for something.
"Is it my fault I want to protect you from these people? What if they would of gotten past us and into the defense building, Huh? They would of shot every single person in here including you...I couldn't let that happen and you know why" I grab her gently by the arms and force her to look at me.
"Yes, You love me thats why" She rolls her eyes and shrug out of my lose grip, she holds her hand under the flowing water and sigh. I can't stand this tension that we have between us sometimes.
"Yes I do love you and I don't want them to set eyes on you. I don't want them to use you for some sick and twisted purpose. God knows their using Peeta to get to Katniss and its only a matter of time before they use me to get to her and then they wll get to me through you. I love you and I can't let that happen. That tape they sent to Katniss..it was bad, he knows I'm her best friend, so its only a matter of time before he comes for me and when that time comes I'll be ready to fight for this country's freedom, for my best friend and for you"
"I wish I was a lot stronger, like you and Katniss and Peeta, but I'm not and I feel so helpless, like a damsel in distress." She pouts and lowers her head.
I smirk, tilt her chin up and kiss her quickly, "Some people are not meant to be warriors, some people are meant to be kind, loving, gentle and you are a mixture of all three."
"Your so mushy sometimes its sickening" She giggles.
"I'm telling the honest truth" I chuckle.
She smiles and is quiet for awhile, "I need a shower" She states.
"Alright" There is a brief pause, her eyes goes to my large chest again and I let a smirk appear on my face, "Kiss me?" I demand and this makes her face turn red.
"What?" She asks pretending not to hear me.
"I want a kiss you heard me"
She rolls her eyes, stands on her tiptoes and pecks me very, very lightly on the lips. She turns away from me and feels the water again. I frown, that was not what I wanted, without warning I turned her around very gently and grab her small jaw between my large hand. I kiss her hard, her eyes widen at first, but then they flutter close and she is pulling me closer to her, her tiny hands are in my jet black hair. I am hunched over her trying my very best to kiss her hard. It would be easier if we were both the same height. I pick her up, her legs going around my waist and for a spilt second I get scared that the towel wrapped around my waist is going to unravel and I will expose myself to her, But that doesn't happen, it is tightly secured around my waist. I maneuver us around the large bathroom, trying to find a place where I can lean her up against. The large sink will have to do. I take my one arm off of her and use my forearm to send the items on the large sink to the ground. Toothbrushes, hairbrushes, candles, bottles of toothpaste all goes hurling to the ground. I set her gently on the sink and her legs are on either side of me now. Geez I just asked for one kiss and that one kiss leads to this. Both her hands are gripping my shoulders and she is trying her hardest to deepen the kiss. I can't believe their is so much sexual tension between us and this is coming from a girl that has been raped on more than one occasion. I won't have sex with her because of that reason.
"Gale" She moans between our lips.
My hands gently grip both her legs and I pushed into her harder and this earns a moan from the back of her hroat. She is clawing at my back and I am devouring her lips, making them swollen and well kissed. Soon I'm panting between each kiss I give her and she does the same. She parts our lips for air and immediately I go to her neck and kiss her there, leaving bright red marks, "Gale" She moans again as she runs her hands through my jet black hair. "Gale, I...Ouch" She groans and I immediately stop kissing her and look into her light blue eyes.
"What? What is it?" I have her face between my hands.
"Something is poking me" She says breathless and reaches behind her and pulls out a hairbrush that was poking her in the back. She examines the brush and smiles up at me. "There's the culprit" She says and tosses it to the ground. I give her one last loving kiss before helping her off the sink. The towel is a little loose on me so I quickly tighten it while she straightens her nightgown that was riding up past her thighs.
"I should probably get a shower now" She mumbles, her face is red and she is breathless, so am I.
"Yeah" I lean forward and give her one last kiss before exiting the shower and leaving her to her business. I enter the large bedroom and throw on jeans, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt over top of that. I plopped down on the couch and put my feet up on the coffee table, as soon as I sat down My eyelids began to close and all I wanted to do was sleep. I gave in and allowed my lids to close, driving myself into a deep and peaceful sleep. I wasn't asleep for very long because the next thing I know I'm being woken to the sound of pounding on our door. I made no attempt to get it, I hear Delly's small footsteps move across the room.
"Hi" Delly greets warmly.
"Madam" I recognized the voice as commander Rend, I hear his large heavy footsteps move into the room and I keep my eyes closed and my body still, Making no indications that I am awake and ready for whatever it was he wanted me to do. I hear Delly lead Rend into the kitchen, there is cups and plates clicking together.
"Can I help you with something?" Delly questions.
"Mr. Hawthorne is needed down in the lobby in about 20 minutes, we are going to be broadcasting a live broadcast to the citizens of the capitol, explaining the current situation we find ourselves in, only then the people can decide for themselves if they want to stay or go, I believe you, Mr. Fredrickson and Miss. Everdeen are the first scheduled on the train?" Rend questions her.
"Yes" Delly admits sadly, "Can you just let him sleep for now? He's been up all night, he's tired" There is a brief pause and I just know Rend looked in my direction. I keep my eyes squeezed shut and my body motionless, I was always good at pretending the be asleep; it was something I used to do back home. When my mother came into my room and asked me to do something for her,I would pretend to be asleep so I wouldn't have to help her and she was a kind enough person, she would never wake me up. She'd just smile, chuckle and close my door. Looking back now I wish I'd done everything my mother told me to do, spent as much time as I could with her.
"Sorry miss, his presence will be expected down in the lobby in 20 minutes" Rend said in his professional tone.
"Yes commander" Delly was silent and She was probably biting her lip right now, "One thing commander"
"Yes?"
"When is the train leaving?" She questions.
"One will leave today and one tomorrow, yours, Miss. Everdeen and Mr. Fredrickson will be leaving on day two in private, nobody except Paylor and myself know about it. Don't worry you are all in good hands. Now tell Hawthorne to be in the lobby in 20 minutes" His large footsteps walks across the room, I hear Delly bid her goodbyes and that was that. Oh I'm so exhausted I don't want to go down to the lobby. I feel the couch shift and suddenly Delly is curled up against my side running her fingers down the side of my cheek, her touch sends shivers down my spine, I open my tired gray eyes and meet her light blue eyes. We smile at each other and I go in for a light kiss.
"Rend wants you downstairs in twenty minutes" She tells me and continues running her hands through my hair.
"I heard" I tell her in a tired voice. I pull my tired body off the couch and stretch my sore, tired muscles. Delly watches me and smiles the whole time, her smile really can put my mind at ease.
"Are you coming with me?" She suddenly asks me out of the blue.
"Where?"
"On the train."
I sigh and shake my head "I can't Del, I already joined the squad when we first came here, I need to help them kill these people"
She nods her head multiple times again and speaks very lowly, "I'm going to really miss you when where apart"
"I'm going to miss you too, but promise me you'll help Hass look after Katniss, she is going to be a wreck." I say.
Delly sighs, "Peeta really got her pregnant again?"
I look at Delly kind of shocked that she was about to find out that information. I nod my head and placed a hand on my hip, staring at her in curiosity, word travel fast around this place. It's not even quiet 7 in the morning and already everyone in the whole building knows of Wadera's attack on Katniss and Peeta on the rooftop. I wish I can go to the hospital and check on her, make sure she didn't miscarry another baby. It would be tragic and heartbreaking if she miscarried twice. News of Katniss condition was unknown to me, hopefully someone down in the lobby will know something, I look over my shoulder at the clock again, it was nearly time for me to go to the lobby, not like I wanted to you. I really wanted to stay up here, hug on her, kiss on her and get some sleep.
"Yes he got her pregnant" I finally say answering Delly's questions. I take a step forward, lean down and kiss her real quick on the mouth, "I got to go"
"I take it I'm not allowed to leave this room?" She questions with a hand on her hip.
"Please just in case something happens." I take her small, tiny frame into my large arms and hug her, We kiss for the longest moment, her hands in my hair, mine resting on the small of her back. When we break apart she rest her head on my chest, listening to my heartbeat, "Love you" I say quietly as if someone is listening and watching us. I feel like I'm being watched.
"Please don't lock me in this time" She begs me.
"I won't I trust you'll stay in here." I give her one last and final kiss and then I'm out the door, walking down the hallway with my head down and my hands in my pocket. I get into the elevator, ride it down to the first floor, it dings open and I find myself in the lobby, Rend and Creft's entire squad is in the lobby awaiting orders. I scan the room hoping to find anyone that can tell me of Katniss's condition, but nobody catches my eyes. Finally after s couple minutes of looking his blonde hair catches my mind and I bolt quickly towards Mellark. He is sitting on one of the lobby benches staring at a small pink vile in his hands. I come over and take a seat next to him.
"Mellark" I greeted him softly.
"Gale" He greets back.
"You alright?" It was really a stupid question to ask. Of course he's not alright. Fiancee is in the hospital. A psycho wants to kill her, the world is in chaos, he almost got popped in the back of the head, if it weren't for me he'd be six feet under, leaving Katniss a single mother and heartbroken. Peeta narrows his eyes at me as I asked that question and remains silent, staring at the pink vile in his hands.
"I want this to be over, I want her out of danger, I want her to be happy and safe and she is none of those things, she is laying in the a hospital bed because of me, because of that stupid fight we had. If I would of just took her into my arms and kissed her instead of yelling and fighting with her then there is a good chance she would be here, packing her things, ready to go on that train. You know I'm not a very good boyfriend, I got my girlfriend pregnant twice, killed the first one, put the second on in danger on that rooftop. Wadera knows about it now and its my fault. You really are better for her than I am and if I die or something you need to take care of her, be better than me. I know you've fallen in love with my best friend and thats fine, I'm just asking that you take care of her and my baby, she really should of chosen you."
"You need to shut your mouth Mellark right now and stop being so negative. One none of this is anyones fault except that bastard Wadera, hes the sick twisted man hell bent on following in Snow's footsteps. We will kill him, set things straight and fix that problem of your. Seems like you found a solution anyway." I pointed to the pink bottle and gently took it out of Peeta's hand. I gave it a good twirl through my fingers examining every inch of it. I handed it back to him and continued. "Katniss loves you, she's always loved you, even after the first games."
Peeta chuckles without humor, "No she loved you too at one time"
"As a brother, She was thinking of you every time we kissed, After ever kiss and every touch she refused to make eye contact with me, she could barely look at me after we kissed and the way we kissed was hurried and unmeaning, but when you kissed her on the beach, for the cameras, in the cave; every single one of those seemed to have meaning. I have never seen my best friend look at someone like that, they way she looked at you, they way she kissed you I could only dream she'd do that to me. Katniss really did chose the one she can't live without, she chose you."
"Why are you saying all this to me, your the one that hates me for taking her from you, but here you are trying to boost my confidence, why is that?"
"Because you need to stop sitting here in self-pity feeling sorry for yourself and her, you need to get up off your ass and fight for her, fight for your child, Fight for your cure and send that little prick to hell, let him join his dead little brother."
Peeta nod his head multiple times, gets up from the bench and stares at me with those deep ocean blue eyes. He sticks out his hand and we shake, something we have only ever done once or twice. "I never did thank you"
"For what?"
"Saving my ass. Thank you"
"Your welcome."
He disappears through the crowds of people and I feel proud of myself for giving him a confidence boost. I sit back down on the bench and let my head fall back. I really could go to sleep here and now. I was about to close my eyes, but a loud fearful shrieking noise made me bolt in an upright position. The screams and shrieks were coming outside, everyone in the lobby bolted from the building and now stood in the streets of the capitol. I looked around, expecting to see peacekeepers strangling the citizens, doing something harmful, but there wasn't a peacekeeper in sight. People had their hands to their mouths and was looking up at the screens that littered the capitol. I glanced up and saw him, there he was smiling down at everyone, blood covering his face. A human head in his lap.
"I will kill everyone and anyone who stands in my way. Those who sided with the mockingjay will be killed when everything is restored, however there is something that you can do in order to redeem yourself and that is bring me the mockingjay. When I am president of Panem, your country will be restored and you will no longer have to be equal o the districts, this city will be above all, as your president Snow intended it to be."
I looked around the square a few people took their hands away from their mouth and looked up at Wadera with such curiosity. Was this really happening, were people really considering this above all district crap.
"Bring me the mockingjay and I will give you your rightful place in the restored city." Wadera cheered.
I was shocked and angry that a couple people actually clapped for him. The screens suddenly went blank and the people in the streets started rushing towards President Paylor's mansion. This really wasn't going to end well. I stood there staring blankly up at the screen.
"Gale?" Someone shout. I turned around to see Hass and Delly coming my way.
"What are you doing out here" I frowned at Delly.
"We got to get her and Katniss to the train station ASAP, it is chaos and can you believe some people are actually lining up at Paylor's mansion, demanding the mockingjay."
"Are you serious" I spat.
"Yeah dead serious" Hass nods.
"How the hell was he able to get a live broadcast through."
Hass shrugs, "I don't know, but he got his message across and there are sick people out there wanting things restored."
"Is Katniss safe?" I question.
"Yeah, she is still at the hospital, Peeta and I were going to go over there now, but I need you to put Delly on a train. The trains are going to be busy, there are a lot of people wanting to leave and a lot of people wanting to stay and search for Katniss. Its going to be a bloodbath. Paylor has ordered her entire defense team into the city. She thinks their hovercraft will be here in a matter of minutes."
"Alright I'll take her to the train station, tell Rend I will be back as soon as I know she is safe and on the train."
Hass nods and takes off back into the building. I take Delly's hand in my own and start to lead her down the sidewalk. We would have to walk it, the cabs would not be running if a war was about to go on. We walk down the sidewalk and I soon become aware of a man in his late forties, early fifties following our every move and turn. I glance over my shoulder and he just smiles. The freak. I have half a mind to turn around and punch him in the mouth. Delly has not seen him which is good. I don't want to alert her. We take a left and then a right, the man is still following us. Finally I have enough, he is on our heels now. I whip around and hell in his face.
"BACK OFF!" I scream.
"I missed you Delly" He smiles. I look over at her and see the color drain from her face, "Daddy's missed you so much"
Delly whimpers beside me and I step in front of her as the man that I am assuming to be her step-father tries to reach for her. I get in his face, my blood is boiling and its taken everything I have inside me not to kill this man, "Stay the fuck away from her" I hiss.
"Who the hell are you" He spits back.
"Your not allowed...near...me" Delly stutters out.
"Awe baby, don't you miss daddy. It's been years Delly. Daddy's lonely."
"Your not my father, you will never be my father!" She yells.
The mans face falls, he bites his lip and sets his jaw, "Alright you little bitch, after everything I have done for you took you in after your whore of a mother died, gave you food shelter and in return you call the police on me for taking care of you."
I take a step forward and push the man hard, it was unexpected and he looses his balance. The older man hits the ground hard and I can't help but scream. "You raped her, you raped your own step daughter." I grab him by the collar and smash my head against his. Delly moves forward and places her small hand on my bicep. She pulls me away from her step-father and tries her hardest to soothe my temper. The man struggles to his feet, but once he regain his balance all I want to do is push him down again.
"Didn't think my food and shelter were free did yeah" He chuckles.
"Samuel you need to leave me alone"
"No, I miss you, I miss the way you scream and cry. I'm happy I decided to come here. What are the odds; the hunger games are returning, the districts will be shit again and to top it all off I get to be so rough with you...I" He didn't finish his sentence because my fist pounded in his fist and I sent him hurling to the ground. I then straddled his an gave him a right and left hook as hard as I could, until his old skin cracked and even then I wouldn't stop. There was so much rage and anger I couldn't control it. I keep hitting him left and right. Delly is begging me to stop, but I won't. Samuel soon becomes limp and I hop off of him and check for a pulse. He's still alive which means I haven't beaten him to death. He groans and opens he swollen eyes. He dips his shaky hand into his pocket and pulls out a gun. Delly gasp and I grab hold of her as Samuel tries and shoots me. The gun goes off and the stray bullet takes off missing us by a lot. He's cursing and yelling, calling Delly foul names, but we pay no attention as we hurry down the street towards the train station. She is crying her eyes out and soon I have had enough. I pull her into the alleyway and hug her tightly. She buries her head into my chest and sobs.
"Shh, your safe, Your here with me. I love you. He won't hurt you" I soothe her.
"I'm scared, I'm so scared...of everything" She cries. I tilt her head up and wipe the tears away, "Come with me please, don't make me go alone, don't make me go with people I don't know. Please come with me Gale."
"I can't sweetie" I say and creased her head, "You'll have Katniss and Hass."
"I don't want them. I want you" She cries.
It took me a long while to calm her down after confronting her step-father. We race towards the train station and people are lined up everywhere. Hass,Rend, Johanna, Peeta and Katniss herself, are on the other side of the station, followed by a few guards. I lead Delly over towards them.
"What took so long?" Rend asked.
"Long story."
"Get these guys on the train" Rend orders me and the guards.
"I'm not going without you" I hear Katniss say to Peeta and Delly says the same thing to me. Peeta and I led our girls on the train. There is a loud popping noise that echoes through the station, some shrieks, cries, more popping noise. I bolt off the train to investigate and there I see at least 12 of them, Peacekeepers firing their guns everywhere. Another firing noise and I hear Johanna wail. I turn towards her expecting to see her laying on the ground, covered in blood with a bullet in her chest or something, but it wasn't her. It was Rend laying there blood seeping from his sides, blood in his mouth. Johanna is crying and the light is leaving Rend's body.
To be continued...