Disclaimer – Not Suzanne Collins; don't own any of her stuff.

Bombshells

"As you know, three years ago I was reaped."

Rutilus had said to start this press conference at the beginning - that it'd get people's attention. It seemed to be working. I saw hundreds of eyes on me and squirmed. I took a deep breath and focused my eyes on one little boy that I didn't know way in the back. That was a trick Peeta had taught me.

"But even before I was sent to the Games, I'd been forced to live in lies. My father died in a mine when I was 12. I met Gale because his dad died the same day. The only way for us to keep our families from starving was to sneak into the woods of District 12 and hunt, illegally. And no, we're not cousins. That was one of the many lies that started when I was in the arena. They just couldn't handle that my hunting partner and best friend was good looking.

"In the woods I learned to shoot arrows as if my life depended on them. Because it did."

I took a deep breath. This part was hard.

"Peeta was honest about how he felt about me, but I wasn't sure what I felt. At first I knew there was no romance. Not on my part. I didn't want to care for him since one of us was going to have to die. Once we were in the arena, some of it was an act to get some sponsors, to stay alive. Some of it was a battle, doing whatever we had to do. And some of it was real, because Peeta was a wonderful guy. But it was all mixed together until I didn't even know what I really felt. "

I was giving this speech to save Gale, but it was much more than that. I needed to help the president, Johanna and all the others down there. I needed to help Panem to find a new way, to stop believing the lies, to start looking for the truth.

And part of this I was doing for Peeta, to somehow go back and fix the things that had gone wrong between us. I knew that most of it was my fault. The lies he'd told were told to keep me safe, part of the game the Capitol was forcing us to play. But it was time for it to end.

"It wasn't until the Games and the rebellion were over that I was finally free to truly love Peeta. The time we had together was beautiful and precious. But it was cut short. The Capitol had damaged his heart too much for him to survive."

I glanced at Rutilus, who was sitting next to the podium. She gave me a sad smile. I didn't look at the other media people who, by now, had to have realized that I wasn't using their speech. I took another deep breath and looked for that kid in the back again.

I hated even thinking about the Victory Tour, but I needed to explain why we'd done what we did. I condensed it as much as I could. I told them how President Snow had threatened me. My stomach clenched again with the raw terror I'd felt. So I'd acted like Peeta and I were in love. What really choked me up was saying how sorry I was for repeating the Capitol's lies at every stop, in every District. For letting my entire life become a Capitol lie. But I told them what had happened in 11. Maybe they'd understand.

So I went on and on, through the Quarter Quell, the rebellion, Peeta's hijacking. I tried to keep it brief, but every once in a while I had to stop to pull myself back together. When I was silent I realized that the crowd was silent too. It seemed as though it was holding its breath and tension built in the air.

"The last lie I was part of was just yesterday. I am worried about President Paylor, but that's not why I'm here. In fact, I didn't even know that the president was down there before I got to District 2. I came because where I come from, when someone you love is trapped in a mine, you go. You wait. If there's anything you can do to help them, you do it. And I'm not going to stand by and lose Gale to a mine."

I heard some murmuring in the crowd, and felt stirring behind me, but I raised my voice and ignored whatever it was.

"Gale may not be my cousin, but he was my friend, my hunting partner, and the Games and the rebellion tore us apart. I lost my best friend and for a while I hated him. Peeta never stopped trying to get us to reconcile. Now we have.

"I know some of you won't approve of me being with Gale now, but I also know that Peeta made me promise I'd keep living my life after he was gone. I won't ever forget him. In fact, I think he's helping me have the strength to be up here telling you all of this now. And I know that Peeta is watching over me, glad that I can admit, to pretty much the whole world, that I'm in love with Gale.

"But the last lies going on threaten Gale's life, President Paylor's life and the lives of all of those still down in the Nut. Just a few minutes ago Colonel Onyx stood here and said that it's unlikely that anyone is still alive down there. I'm sorry but I don't think that's true."

There were shouts and some cheering. The crowd seemed to push toward me, moving and seething like a living thing, with an energy that reminded me of the crowd that long ago day in District 11.

"I don't know who's alive right now, but I do know that just this morning I talked to Gale and Johanna on a rigged up communicuff that has since been taken away from us. They were alive and doing well and, by the way, they're not dating. At the time they also thought that the President and many of the others were still alive, but they couldn't get to them yet."

I could feel the anger coming up from in front of me. I wondered how many of them had loved ones below, how many were here for President Paylor, knowing what she meant to our fragile country.

"I'm not the only one who knows that someone was still alive down there. Those who were evacuated from L3 heard a yell, someone was alive, but when they came up, no one wanted to believe them."

I tried to ignore the sounds around me, but I glanced down and saw that the military guards in front of the platform were being pushed back against it. I could feel the structure tremble and, for a second fear of falling gripped me. Then I saw, near the back of the crowd, Veritas's flaming hair, and Julina sparkling at his side. Their hopeful eyes gave me strength and I kept going.

"What we need to do is keep asking questions, not just believe everything that is said. Gale and Johanna have no interest in killing the President. In fact, I'm sure that they're doing all they can to keep her alive. We need to keep an eye on the supposed rescue operations up here. Make sure that they do all they can to get them safely out, then make sure that any accusations that fly over who's fault all of this is are handled fairly and carefully. There's no need to rush to judgment, no need to just believe whatever the Panem Circus prints.

"Are there any questions?"

With a burst of shouting in my face, I stepped back from the podium. I couldn't make out any thing anyone was saying. I didn't know what to do. But Rutilus stepped up to the microphone and announced "Let's try to quiet down so Katniss can take some questions."

She called on reporters by name, and I did my best to answer their questions. But once they finished asking me about my love life and moved on to what was happening in the Nut all I could say was "I don't know." The crowd was pushing forward and I felt the platform shifting. It wasn't very sturdy anyway. It wouldn't take much more of this.

"Thank you for your time. We'll let you know when we have more information." Rutilus smoothly motioned for me to go. I turned and was relieved to see Doc, Chervil, Walker, and Groves standing near the back of the podium. I didn't know how they'd gotten out, but when Doc motioned for me to follow them I did.

Doc and Walker were pressing a pathway through the people who were pressing toward me, asking more questions, reaching their hands out, creeping me out. Chervil and Groves were just behind. We were deep in the crowd when I heard Chervil call out: "Hey Doc, wait. There's news."

"I'll be right back," said Doc.

Someone grabbed me by the elbow. Startled, I jerked back around, then saw that it was just Walker. "Let's get out of this mess," he said. "They'll catch up with us."

Something about the way he held on to me made me nervous. I pulled my arm away from him. Groves was right behind us. I kept following Walker. At least he'd get us out of this mob. We were outdoors so there were no stairways we could duck into to escape, but the crowd was thinning. I wished I had my hooded sweat shirt to hide in. My white suit stood out in the sea of gray fatigues.

"Come on, we can take the back way up to the Base. Its longer, but that crowd is getting out of control." Walker tried to take my elbow again and I pulled away from him. I wasn't sure I should go with them. But where else would I go? I didn't know Walker very well. But Groves was coming. I trusted him.

The two of them were quiet as we walked. There was none of the easy banter that followed Chervil.

"Where're you going? I thought we're going to meet up at Brighton's office." Groves said as Walker made a right to go up some stairs. I'd never been on this part of the Base. I looked at the building we were passing and noticed that the sign in front said "Detention Facility." I had a wild thought to go in and free Brighton, but there was no real way I could do that.

"There's a new plan. Beetee's finally got communications back up. We're going to meet in the labs and see if we can talk to them."

My chest leaped. After all of the rumblings and explosions from the deep today I needed to hear Gale's voice again. Was he alive? Was he hurt? Would they be out soon?

Groves seemed skeptical. He asked "How do you know?"

"He sent a kid down to tell me while she was talking."

Groves frowned. He didn't like something about that.

"Does Doc know?"

"I didn't get a chance to tell him. Why don't you head over to the office and wait for them there? Then you can bring them up to the lab."

Groves looked intensely at me. His hand was resting on the gun in his holster. Had he been wearing it back in Brighton's office? I glanced over and noticed that Walker had his too.

"Okay, we'll meet you up there," Groves said and he turned and jogged away. For a moment I wanted to go with him, to be with someone I trusted. But I had to know that Gale was okay; I needed to hear his voice, find out when they'd be out. Once again, Walker tried to steer me by the elbow, but I pulled away. We couldn't be far from the lab. I wished I had a gun, too. Or my bow. Something. I did have my knife, tucked into the waistband of my skirt.

I was relieved once we were back in Beetee's building and I knew where we were. It was quiet though. It wasn't usually very noisy, but the labs we passed were completely still and empty.

"Where's everybody?" I asked.

"Press conference." So it'd been a big enough deal that even the computer geeks were there. I was surprised that they even knew about it. The crowd had been big. But then was Beetee working alone? Had he gotten the system back up by himself? Something wasn't right.

Walker was next to me, tense. I caught his eye, but he just gave me a slight frown and didn't say anything.

Sure enough, when we reached Beetee's lab he was the only one there, the sound of his typing strangely loud in the silence.

"Beetee, I brought her," Walker stated.

Beetee looked up and in his eyes I saw the calculating killer in the arena. Hunting me.

I didn't really make a conscious decision. I just bolted. Down the hall, into the first stairwell I found.

"Get her," Beetee snapped.

The metal stairs echoed with my footsteps, but speed was more important than silence. I could hear Walker pounding behind me. I was skipping stairs, racing up, just two more floors in this building. No idea what else was up here. As I ran my mind flew, trying to think of where to go, how to evade him.

Could I get back to Brighton's office? To get there I'd have to cover open ground. Would Walker shoot me? Probably.

I reached the top, went into the hall, and sprinted down its length. Could I make it to the kitchen? It was closer. There'd be people there. But they'd be unarmed, unsuspecting. They couldn't help me and I'd just get them hurt.

I felt a stitch in my side. It'd been a long time since I'd run full out. I was almost to the end of the corridor. I heard the stairway door slam open, then a blast of sound. He'd shot at me. The bastard. I felt no pain, but my ears burned from the noise. I reached the far stairwell and ducked into it. At least he wouldn't have a clear shot in here. I gripped the knife still in my waist band. It wouldn't do me any good against his gun.

My footsteps echoed again down the metal stairs.

I still had no plan. I just needed to get away, not to get shot. Maybe I could hide. Wait until Groves, Doc and Chervil came. I should have gone with them. With a jolt I realized that Walker had lied; communications weren't back up. I wasn't going to talk to Gale. If they killed me, I'd never get to talk to him.

I decided that when I reached the first floor I'd head right, get out of this building, take my chances in the next one where maybe they wouldn't know what was there any more than I did. I threw open the stairwell door, turned and froze. Beetee was there, a gun barrel in my face.

There was a flash of light, but no noise. He hadn't shot me. It was more like he'd taken my picture with the gun. That made no sense. He didn't lower it, though, and I didn't move.

It was the gun from the file, in the sketches I'd seen. Sleek and silver, with a scope nearly as big as the gun on top. And a light blinking in the scope.

I heard Walker thunking down the stairs. No wonder Beetee had been ready for me. I hadn't exactly creeped up on him.

My breath was ragged. I forced myself to slow, to take deep breaths. I wanted to be ready if I got another chance to run.

The door opened again behind me. Where was everyone? When would they come back from the press conference? Where was Julina? No. I didn't want her here. I didn't want to see a gun pointed at her, too.

"Let's go." Beetee marched me down the hall, Walker to my right. Wherever they were taking me, whatever they were doing, it wasn't good. I walked as slowly as I could, delaying whatever this nightmare was.

"What's going on Beetee? What're you doing?" I was mostly buying time. For what I didn't know. But maybe he'd tell me something.

"I'm going to show you my new invention." I knew he meant the gun.

"Why?"

"Because I'm not going to jail. I'm not going to trial." We were almost to the lab. I didn't want him to say any more in the hall. If he said it in the lab, it'd be on camera. The mikes would pick it up. Maybe they would see down in Brighton's office, or maybe, after they found my dead body, someone would know who'd done it.

We went into the lab. I was trapped in here, completely on Beetee's turf, but at least there'd be a record.

"Frisk her," said Beetee. Walker didn't seem to like taking orders from Beetee. He glanced at him with a frown and as soon as he looked away I pulled my knife. But he saw the motion and slammed my wrist into the wall.

He pried the knife out of my hand. "Pretty," he smirked and slipped it into his belt. Jerk.

"When did you become a creep?" I snapped at him.

"When I figured out that Paylor was too much of a wimp to run a country. Coin knew you couldn't mess around with trials and garbage."

"What do you want with me?"

Beetee answered. "Hawthorne's either dead or going to jail. But you're not going to be around to back his story." His voice was calm, just telling me his plan. "And, don't get excited. I took the camera out. How stupid do you think I am?"

My heart fell. My last chance to help Gale. Gone. Beetee wasn't known for being dumb. I closed my eyes, all hope gone, and leaned into the wall my hands were still up against. I had walked up here myself, walked right into this mess.

There was a sound in the hall. Beetee's head jerked back. He'd left the door open. Walker silently pulled his gun and pointed it at me, while Beetee turned to check the hall, taking his eery gun with him. We couldn't see him as he went down the short corridor to the door. I could hear my heart thumping, still not back to normal from my running.

Instead of hearing the door shut, we heard a thud, and a grunt. I looked at Walker and he jerked his gun, letting me know he was ready to use it. It was pointed at my head.

Then there was a shuffling sound. Beetee came back into view, his hands held up above his head. I saw the silver gun first, raised and pointed at his head.

Then I saw Gale.

I should've known he'd have my back. Even if it wasn't possible. Somehow he'd known. Somehow he'd gotten here.

I stood away from the wall. His face was burnt, bruised, his lip swollen. His pants were torn, stained with what might've been blood. I could see the splint on his left hand, and the hand holding the gun looked swollen and red. His chest was heaving. He must've run here.

But he looked magnificent. If he could be here anything was possible. Somehow we could beat the odds.

Or maybe not.

"Hawthorne, you know this gun." Beetee's voice was cocky. "It won't work for you and it won't shoot me. It's the Katniss gun I told you about. Why don't you tell her what it does?"

"I could still hit you with it," Gale said, moving the gun butt to right above Beetee's head.

"Put it down, Sarge, or I'll shoot her." Walker's voice was higher than usual. His hand was shaking.

"Don't call me Sarge." Gale glanced at him with total hatred. He lowered the gun.

Walker kept his gun pointed at my head. Beetee took the gun from Gale, then motioned to Walker.

Walker moved over to Gale. I looked over but saw that Beetee now had the silver gun pointed at me. Walker kept his own gun pointed at Gale while he frisked him with his other hand, took his gun, his knife.

I saw Gale's eyes catch my knife in Walker's belt and they went even darker. But then he looked up at me, and they softened. Somehow, with just that look, he told me not to worry. That it was okay.

He knew something they didn't know. When we were both in danger, like when we were facing the boar, he went into hyper alert mood, his shoulders raised and tense. He wasn't like that now. Even though there was a gun pointed at his head, he wasn't worried.

I gave him a nod. I couldn't quite work up a smile, but if he wasn't worried, I wouldn't be. Well, not much.

"So you don't want to tell," Beetee was bragging. Damn him for taking out that camera. But he hadn't mentioned the microphones. "I built this gun to even the odds. Some of us can't shoot as well as you can, Katniss, but this gun changes that. You're known for taking down your prey with a single shot, through the eye. Perfect, elegant, deadly. That's what this does. Earlier I scanned your retina. Now, no matter where I point the gun, it's targeted to you. It'll take you down, one shot, elegant, through the eye."

Did he think I'd be impressed with his sick invention?

I looked back at Gale. He closed his eyes for a second and looked back at me, telling me he was sorry, sorry he'd known about that gun, sorry I'd had to hear about that hideous idea, sorry it was targeting me now.

I wondered if the bullet could follow me into the hall. If I ducked into the staircase, surely the metal door would slow it down. But I couldn't risk that with a gun pointed at Gale.

But he still wasn't afraid. He wasn't worried. If he'd thought I was about to die, he'd be wound up with nerves, thinking wildly to find a way out. No matter what trap Beetee thought he'd set, Gale had outsmarted it somehow.

"Hawthorne, take off your sweatshirt." Beetee's tone was imperial. Gale didn't move. Beetee rolled his eyes. "Walker, get that shirt off of him."

Walker smirked at Gale as he pulled my knife out from his belt. He sliced the shirt open in the front, the knife moving cleanly through the fabric which he held taut at the bottom. Even though he made the cut up, so that he could finish by flourishing the knife right in Gale's face, Gale didn't twitch. Instead he kept his eyes locked onto Walker's face. I noticed that Walker, for all his cockiness, couldn't hold Gale's gaze as he tore the sweatshirt off his arms.

"Thought so. A little body armor hidden under there." Once again, Gale didn't respond.

"Walker, watch the hall," Beetee said. Walker glanced at him, then back at Gale. He slipped the knife - my knife - back into his belt and stepped past Gale down the corridor toward the hall, gun held up and ready.

Then I realized, Walker was shaking. But Beetee was completely calm. No hands in his hair, no nervous quaking for him. The gun in his hand was targeted at me. With Walker gone, why wasn't he afraid of Gale? Was he just sure that Gale would never move, never take a chance when Beetee was so ready to kill me? But if Beetee pulled that trigger, if he killed me, then what would he have to use against Gale? He was smart enough to know that. Why wasn't he more scared? He had the same look he'd had in the arena, when he was watching someone about to die in one of his traps.

These were the two masters of traps and each one thought he had the other one right where he wanted him.

I knew Beetee better than Gale did, at least lately. I needed to figure out what he was thinking, find his trap.

"Hawthorne, you don't want to watch her die. Take a step back."

Gale's eyes were fixed on Beetee, his hands down since Walker had pulled the shirt off his arms, but raised a bit, ready to fight. He didn't move. Beetee rolled his eyes with irritation and stalked over to Gale.

He began to rant. "Just for fun, I think I'll doctor up this file too. Give you credit for one more invention. You'll be dead, but I'll get to enjoy the irony of everyone thinking you invented the weapon that took out your precious Mockingjay." He waved the gun in Gale's face and Gale took a step back, eyeing the gun as though it was a bomb, as though it was as dangerous to him as it was to me.

Beetee's eyes flickered toward the ceiling and I tried to put together why he was acting so strangely. He sauntered back over near his desk, still waving his gun around. He seemed very pleased with himself, as though it was some great accomplishment to get Gale to flinch, to step back. Why did he care? Why did Beetee want to make Gale back away like that? To get him away from me? Gale was still close enough that if he dived, he could reach me, take me down and cover me. Besides from what Beetee said, that wouldn't help. The gun would still find its target.

Then I remembered how Beetee's eyes had flickered to the ceiling and it all made sense.

The booby trap Johanna had told me about. There was something up there in the ceiling and he'd just made Gale step right under it.

I looked at Gale, then up at the ceiling above him, trying to send him a silent message, but I just saw a crease form between his eyebrows as he frowned at me, not understanding the message I was trying to send him. I couldn't risk anything more. I didn't want Beetee to realize what I'd figured out.

Beetee looked at him coldly and I knew in my gut what was up there. Body armor blasters. He'd needed to make sure that Gale was wearing body armor. The blasters would explode the second they touched the armor. And Gale was covered in it.

But I wasn't.

I'd need to move fast and I couldn't let Gale see it coming or I'd never knock him off his feet. I had to catch him by surprise.

We all stood there. My body was tense, ready to move. But for a moment time stood still, no one ready to be the first one to go. I made sure not to look at Gale so that he couldn't read my plan in my eyes.

Then there was another sound in the hall. Walker might hold them off, but someone was coming.

It all happened at once. I saw a flash, then a loud explosion, even louder than Walker's gun had been. I clenched my eyes shut, knowing an eyelid wouldn't stop a bullet, but having to try it anyway.

And I dove into Gale with all the force I could muster.

I hit him with all my weight, which wouldn't have been enough if he'd been ready for it, but he wasn't. He may have been braced for an attack, but not from me. He fell, taking me with him and for a second I was just glad to feel him beneath me. Then my back and my neck burst into pain and I knew I was screaming.

Gale started to thrash, trying to push me off.

"Body armor blasters," I yelled. I had to let him know not to touch them.

He froze. He understood. I could feel the burning, on my leg, on my back, on my arm, on my neck. The door flew open and someone was there, lots of people.

"Don't let them touch the armor! Get it off!" He warned. "Get them off her!"

Then I relaxed into him. And went into darkness.


The first thing I was aware of was a scraping sound. Then pain, there, but dulled. Not morphling; I could think. I was lying on my front, my face to one side, soft cloth on my cheek. I opened my eyes and saw a wall, white. I smelled the sharp scent of disinfectant, a hospital. I raised my head, then flinched. My neck hurt. I put my head back down.

"You awake?" Johanna.

"Um, yeah." My brain was cloudy.

Johanna came around to the side of my bed, still holding a muddy boot which she must've been cleaning with her knife.

"You're gonna live. So's pretty boy. He's in surgery. They're trying to save his hand. They'll be able to. I did a good job on it."

She sure was smug.

"My neck?" I asked.

"You took a bunch of body armor blasters, all over your back. They didn't explode, but the phosphate burned you pretty good. What's with you and the always getting burned? It's getting a bit old already."

"Beetee?"

"That bastard's toast. Hawthorne slipped some explosive tape into his gun barrel. When he fired it, it blew him to bits."

"Yuck."

"Better him than you."

"What about Walker?"

"Groves and Chervil made a mess of him. He's in detention now. I hope they put him in with Onyx. They'd get along great."

"Paylor?"

"She's a solid oak. She let them arrest us. They were cuffing all of us, including Rory. He was decoying for Gale. Before they got to her she asked 'What're the charges?' Some jerk said 'Assassinating the president,' and she popped her helmet off. 'Then there's no charges.' I wish I could've gotten to the camera. The guy almost fainted." She closed her eyes and grinned, enjoying the memory.

"How'd Gale get there? Get to the lab?"

She told me the whole story. I decided I owed a lot to a lot of people – Rory, Chervil, Paylor.

"We came marching down the mountain, well, limping down in my case." I looked down and noticed that she had a fresh cast on one leg. "It's not broken. Just a bad sprain. But apparently they don't trust me to stay off of it so they casted it up. Bunch of gutless weevils. Paylor made them let Doc and Chervil go, and they took off after Gale. I guess they ran into Groves and he brought them up to the lab. Paylor was great.

"There was this crazy mob. They'd already rushed Onyx. He had to be put in the detention facility for his own protection. But Paylor just marched in and took over the podium. Merc and I did the bodyguard thing. The crowd was wild, but she stayed cool, calmed them down. She thanked us all, you too, and said there would be a full investigation and report on what had happened in the Nut. Now everybody's pretty much in the waiting room, waiting to see if Hawthorne'll be able to tie his shoelaces again. It was too crowded in there, so I told them you needed a guard."

She smirked at me. I just smiled, glad to hear her attitude again.

"Katniss, honey, how are you?" It was Hazelle. She gently kissed my cheek. She looked up at Johanna and held out her hand. "Johanna Mason? I'm Hazelle Hawthorne. I hear you've spent the last two days bandaging my son. Thank you."

Johanna shook her hand with a shrug, but her cheeks blazed red. I laughed to see her embarrassed. Hazelle turned back to me and Johanna stuck her tongue out at me behind her.

"He just came out of surgery. Can you walk? He'll want you there when he wakes up."

The hardest part was getting up. Then my weird hospital gown was all messed up. Johanna and Hazelle helped pull it closed over my dressings. Hazelle made sure I was decent. It hurt to move, but I'd felt worse.

Hazelle held my arm as we walked slowly down the hall. "Johanna – can you go let the boys in the waiting room know that Gale's out of surgery? He's doing fine. I'll let them know when he's ready for more visitors." Johanna disappeared and I kept putting one foot in front of the other.

Rory peeked out of a doorway, Posy next to him. She looked at me and gave me a deep frown, clearly not happy with me for some reason.

"What's up Posy?"

"I heard you talking. You said you love Gale. Is there going to be lots of kissing stuff? Yuck."

"I'll try not to be too gross."

Rory glanced down at her and laughed.

"I hear you were arrested," I said to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he grinned, like he'd completely enjoyed it. "It wasn't too bad. And now Gale owes me, big time."

And there was Gale. We were in a long room, full of nurses and machines and other patients coming to. His eyes were open, but he looked foggy.

I went and stood next to him. He seemed to be working to pull my face into focus.

"Catnip," he said.

"Hey – how are you?"

"Good. Really good." I laughed. After the last couple of days, drugged and bandaged and hurting from surgery was good.

I glanced at Posy. "You might want to look away." I leaned down and gave him a soft kiss.

He gave me a sleepy smile.

"Guess what," I said.

"What?"

"You're not my cousin anymore."

"Good to know." His smile grew. Then he frowned as though he was putting his memory back together. "Did you . . . ? You did. You took those blasters for me."

"Now you owe me," I said, knowing that I already owed him everything. "I do need a favor."

"Yeah? What?"

"I'm gonna need some serious sunblock. You'll have to help."

That reached through the fog. His face lit up in a full smile. "You know it. Come here."

And he kissed me again.

Posy made a gagging noise. "Yuck."


Thanks so much for sticking with this story to the end. There is an epilogue coming.

IrishLuck19 – Your insight has added so much. Thanks for getting me through all of this story.

And thanks to all of you for reading.

Double thanks for my reviewers: GKSRCPSALK4ever, sophiebusuttil, Analyn Ruse, Howlynn, Cloud-Lover 26, L. sohma Cullen, HopeNeverDies, Solaryllis, Heart the Squid, ellenka, luis1113, Daydreaming Viking Girl, HungerGamesGirl 27, wisdomgoddess26, ticktock 22, EchoDeltaNine, Allie, Lenners, BW-Photography, gale4ever, samigirl96, XanimexotakuX, iluvdinos.