Chapter 34

(Gale POV)

It hurts like hell when they finally take that tube outta my nose before they send me home. It reminds me of what it feels like when you're drinking something and you laugh or get choked up and it shoots out your nose. I pinch my nose with my fingers and try to get rid of the burning sensation in my nostrils. It passes in a few minutes.

"You'll need to cover your incision with this special bandage when you shower. Try to keep it as dry as you possibly can." The Medic says as she hands me a handful of clear bandages.

"Am I clear to do whatever I want? Outside of active duty at work, I mean?" I ask.

"You'll need to keep your physical activity to a minimal level until the stitches are removed in a few days. After that, it would be wise of you to proceed with caution, taking baby steps instead of giant leaps." She replies.

It isn't exactly what I was trying to ask but it does give me a good enough answer I suppose so I don't push it any further. No need to make it awkward.

"You can take these for any pain you have but make sure you come back down here if the pain is persistent or if the pills don't help." She says as she puts a small bottle of pink colored pills in my hand. "And take one of these with meals, three times a day until they're gone. You need to take all of them so please be sure you finish the entire prescription." She continues as she places another bottle of pills in front of me. Something she says is to prevent infections that I'm now more susceptible to since I no longer have a spleen.

"Anything else?" I ask with a small sigh. All I really want is to get the heck out of here. I have no idea how Katniss managed to stay sane holed up in her medical room for as long as she was there. Right now, I feel like just five more minutes in this place would send me over the edge.

The medic laughs and tells me I can go. I hop a smidgen to eagerly off the bed and have bite the inside of my cheek to keep from wincing as a wave of pain ripples through me. I glance over at the medic who I find staring at me, eyebrow raised with her hand on her hip. Yeah, she knows what I just did. She knows I just got my first dose of pain due to stupidity. I give her a guilty smile and shrug, holding my hands up.

"Remember what I said about baby steps!" She calls after me as hurry out the door, bag of medicines and bandages in hand.

It's nearly dinner so I should be able to find Madge either at home or in the cafeteria. She was with me last night when I fell asleep but gone when I woke up this morning. I'd expected her to come back this morning after breakfast but she never did. Katniss either. In fact, I haven't had a visitor all day.

When I get home, I find an empty place. No sign of Madge. I drop my bag on the bed and sit down for a minute to rest. I probably shouldn't have taken the stairs. That medic seriously wasn't kidding with the whole baby steps thing. I sincerely hope I get my stamina back really soon. How pathetic is it that climbing a few flights of stairs has me needing to take a damn break? Geez.

After a few minutes of rest, I decide to head for the cafeteria via the elevator this time. I'm not even hungry, I just want to see my Madge. Waiting in line for the elevator reminds me just how much I hate using the elevators here and why I switched to the stairs in the first place. After what feels like an eternity, I finally make it to the cafeteria. Since I'm not hungry, I skip the food line and search the crowded tables for my family and Madge. I find my family but not Madge. Where the hell is she? In line still maybe?

"Gale!" Posy shrieks as soon as she sees me and begins a full on sprint towards me. I can't help but smile as she races towards me, waving both tiny hands above her head.

I squat down to her level and wait for her to reach me. She throws her arms around my neck and I hug her, keeping her a little back so she isn't up against my incision. "Are you all better?"

"Almost. Still gotta be careful with my tummy for a little while though, okay?" I tell her as I pat my hand over my stomach.

"Okay! I made you a card but it's at home. You gonna eat dinner with us?" She asks, tugging my hand and pulling me towards the table.

"I'm gonna sit and visit but I'm not hungry." I tell her as I keep my eyes peeled for Madge.

"Hey, you guys seen Madge at all?" I ask as I sit down with my family.

"Nice to see you too Gale." My mother says sarcastically.

"Sorry, I'm glad to see all of you of course but I haven't seen Madge at all today and I'm just anxious to find her is all." I explain apologetically as I flash a smile around the table at my family. They smile back, having long since been aware that my infatuation with Madge takes precedent over anything and everything else.

"And to answer your question, no, we haven't seen Madge. Not since breakfast." My mother says.

"Where could she be?" I wonder aloud.

"Maybe she's working." Rory offers up through a mouthful of food.

"Maybe. I didn't think was supposed to work today though." I say.

He just shrugs and shovels another forkful into his mouth.

"How are you feeling?" I hear my mother ask but I'm so lost in scanning the room for Madge that I fail to answer her. "Gale?" She asks again.

"Huh? Sorry…I'm okay. Still a little sore. Supposed to take it easy for a few days."

"Perhaps you should just go look for her dear. She's bound to be around her somewhere."

"Yeah, I think I will. Sorry, I'll come by and hang out soon, I just…it's weird that she isn't here, that I haven't seen her today." I say as I go to leave.

"You hafta come to our house and get your card!" Posy whines from across the table.

"I will, I promise. Can't wait to see it." I tell her apologetically as I reach over and ruffle her hair. She quiets down but still holds a pouty look on her face as I walk off.

I look around and don't see Katniss or Peeta either. Peeta's probably in back working right now. Maybe he's seen her. I head for the kitchen and once I'm there, I see Tripp washing dishes. No sign of Peeta though.

"Hey Tripp, you seen Madge today? I can't seem to find her."

"Oh, hey Gale. Glad to see you're out of the medical center. I saw Madge earlier but just for a minute. We were supposed to have lunch but she tracked me down at breakfast to tell me she wasn't going to make it today and we'd have to do it another time. You really haven't seen her all day?" He asks as he drops his dishrag into the sink, concern showing on his face.

"Haven't seen her since I fell asleep last night. My family hasn't seen her either. Thought maybe Peeta might have seen her but now I can't find him either."

"Peeta? He's down in the Defense Department with Katniss. Haymitch sent for him a little while ago."

"Did he say why?"

"Beats me. All I know is if you haven't seen her all day then something is definitely up. Want me to help you look for her? I can come back and wash theses later."

"Nah, I'll go on down to Defense. Maybe Peeta or Katniss have seen her. Thanks though. But hey, if you do happen to run into her, will you tell her I'm looking for her?"

"Sure thing."

"Thanks." I tell him as I leave the kitchen. It's probably always going to be awkward talking to him after how I acted when I heard him and Marah in the stairs that day. To give him credit though, he's a much better man about the whole thing than I am. I certainly wouldn't be offering to help me right now if I were him. I know it's only because he still loves her but I'm okay with that. So long as he never crosses that line, I'm okay with it. Marah I still hate though. That won't likely ever change.

I'm curious as to why Peeta would be in Defense. Something to do with Katniss maybe? It's weird. Defense isn't really Peeta's thing. I force myself to wait for the elevators again even though I know the stairs are faster. I feel weak and tired as it is and stairs aren't gonna help that.

In Defense, I head for Haymitch's office first but it's empty. Communications Bay is my next stop. And that's where I find Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta. No Madge though. Dammit, where are you Madge?

"Well lookie what the cat drug in." Haymitch says as he slurps from his mug, glancing up from his computer as I walk in the door.

"What's going on? Have you guys seen Madge? Can't find her anywhere."

"She's over in Medical. They just brought her mother in." Katniss explains.

"They did? The mission worked? What about her father and Mabel?"

"Not finished with it just yet. A few complications with getting Mr. Undersee but we're working on it. You should go check on Madge, see how her mother is." Katniss tells me quietly.

"What's wrong with the mission?"

"Just go be with Madge. There's too much going on right now for me to explain everything. I'll come find both of you later, I promise." She urges before turning her attention back to the screen in front of her.

Medical? She's over in the Medical Center? Was she there when I left earlier and I just missed her? A huge part of me is torn over whether or not I should stay and try to figure out what's going on or if I should go to Medical and find Madge. Ultimately, I decide finding Madge is most important. I can find out what's going on with her father's rescue later. I don't know what kind of condition her mother was brought here in and I know just seeing her mother will be very emotional for Madge. She never even got to say goodbye before they put her in that Capitol facility and that seems as if it were millions of years ago.

In the Medical Center, I inquire at the front desk about Mrs. Undersee and they tell me what room to find her in. She's listed as family only for visitors but thankfully, I'm now family and I'm able to go on back. I pause outside the cracked door of the room though and listen to Madge as she speaks quietly to her mother. Through the crack in the door I can see her, sitting in a chair with her back to me, next to her mother, holding her hand. Her mother appears to be asleep. Very still. But Madge is softly speaking to her so perhaps she isn't asleep.

"I have missed you so much. Every day, there's been something I wanted to tell you, something I wanted to share with you. So much has happened. I have so much I want to say that I don't even really know where to begin."

She pauses and I listen to see if her mother answers her but she doesn't. She's only still. Madge continues.

"I want you to know that I forgive you for the contract. I don't think it was a smart decision and I disagree with it completely but I've forgiven you because I know your intentions were out of love. I know you loved me so much that you couldn't bare the thought of me ending up like Maysilee. I understand your fears and I know you love me, so I forgive you for what you did."

Madge pauses again and I hear her sniffle. She's crying. My heart aches for her and I want nothing more than to go in and comfort her but I hold back because I can't interrupt this private moment. She's waited a very long time to be able to have this conversation, even if she's the only one doing the talking.

"The next thing I want you to know is that I in no way, was ever part of what Father and Mabel did to you. I'm so incredibly sorry that they betrayed you in that way. A huge part of my heart is always going to feel guilty for what happened. I should have known. I should have paid more attention as you got sicker and sicker. I didn't know that they were the reason you continued to get worse rather than better. I promise that if I'd ever known, if I'd ever thought for even a second that you were being poisoned, I would've stopped it. I would've found a way to help you, to keep you safe."

Again my heart aches for her. I had no idea the weight of the guilt she was still carrying around over what happened with her mother.

"Maybe this is ridiculous. I don't even know if you can hear me or if you can understand what I'm saying, all the things I'm trying to tell you." Madge sobs. I silently plead for her to be strong, to keep talking. She needs this, even if there isn't a response, she needs to get out what she's been holding inside.

"I can't imagine how scary it must have been for you as you felt yourself getting sicker and sicker. Did you know it was him? Did you know that he was behind everything that ailed you? I'm so sorry if you did. You deserved better than that. You deserved the right to trust the one you pledged your love too. I'm still angry with him for what he did. A part of me will probably always be angry. But I do forgive him because, like you, his actions, however horrific they may have been, were out of love for me and fear for my safety."

"You missed a lot while you were gone. Some bad, some good. The best thing you missed though, well, it was more than just a good thing. It was a great thing. I met someone. Someone truly incredible. Actually, I already knew him, or well, I thought I did anyway. But then I saw him differently and before I even knew what was happening, I was totally and completely in love with him. Really, wholeheartedly in love. It's Gale Hawthorne. Katniss's friend? Do you remember him at all?"

She waits as if waiting for an answer but it's long since become clear that her mother isn't going to respond. Whatever shape she's in, it's obvious she isn't able to speak or to move.

"There's more though. I don't just love him. I married him! You hear that? I'm married!" She says, her voice higher with excitement now.

"And it's the most glorious thing ever, being married, being in love with him. He's so wonderful, so perfect, incredibly handsome. You'd absolutely adore him, I just know you would. You would love how protective he is of me. Oh, and his family, they're just as wonderful as he is! They welcomed me right into their family, open armed, from day one."

I can't help but smile to myself as she brags on me and my family. We do love her, that's all true. And I can tell from the sound of her voice that she's smiling too.

"And I know we're awfully young to be married but the way the circumstances all unfolded for us, it just worked out better for us to be married. Wait, by circumstances I don't mean what it sounds like! We didn't have to get married, not like that. It wasn't because of a baby or anything like that at all. What I mean is, we got engaged and had planned to have a lengthy engagement but then we found out I was going into the games and decided we wanted to at least enjoy being married, even if it would only be for a short while. And well, I made it out of the games and now I get to spend the rest of my life with him."

"And don't worry about the games. I did okay. Never even had to kill anyone. I trained ahead of time, just in case. So I could sort of hold my own if I needed too. I had so much help too. Katniss, Gale and his family. Everyone wanted me to win, to make it out safe. There was a surprise help too. Tripp Krull, Lily Krull's son? Well he volunteered to go into the games alongside me. To protect me. Can you believe that? Turns out he loves me. Like really loves me. I don't think I've ever felt anything that was so awful and nice at the same time. I don't love him, not like that anyway and that of course is the part that made his volunteering all the more awful. But I love that he did such a selfless thing on my behalf. We're still friends, he made it out of the games too. We were rescued right out of the arena, the back up plan if you will. And now, we're here in 13. Safe and free from all the evils of the Capitol."

Madge gets really quiet for awhile and I peek back through the crack in the door to see what she's doing. She's laying her head down on her mother's bed. Only now do I see her mother's face fully. Her eyes are wide open but empty. Just glassy and still. She's either heavily medicated or this is what she's become. This could very well be how she is all the time.

I hear Madge sigh and see her raise her head back off the bed again. "I really wish I knew if you could hear me. Wish you could respond. But I am glad you're here. Can't tell you how good it feels to be able to hold your hand again, to see you again. I've missed you so, so much." Her voice is soft again.

"I think you should know that while you were rescued, another rescue was taking place to bring Father and Mabel back here as well. Please don't let that scare you. No one will let them hurt you. They wouldn't do that anymore anyway. But I promise you're safe here. They're probably already here in fact. Probably going through processing right now even."

It's the first time I've really even thought about what it would be like for all of Madge's family to be here at the same time. I never even stopped to wonder if she would be okay with the thought of her Mother being in the same place as Mabel and her Father again. A twinge of guilt runs through me because I should've thought about how that might be hard for her at first. Should've realized that it might be hard for all of them.

"I have a job now too. A real one. I work in a place called Processing and I help get people checked into 13 when they're brought here for the first time. It's only part time but it certainly makes me feel good to be able to contribute here. My husband Gale has a very important job working in the Defense Department. He helps rescue people and bring them back here to safety. He's sort of a hero of sorts. And brave. He's so brave."

She thinks of me as a hero? Admires my bravery? Man I love this girl so much. Here she is finally getting to talk to her mother after all this and what comes to her mind? Me and my bravery? Hearing her sit there and dote on me this way makes my heart soar.

"He's so much more than just brave though. He's…well, he's just everything. Did you know he taught me to swim? Out in the woods of 12, there's this magnificent lake that he took me too when we were dating and he actually taught me how to swim. Can you believe that? Me out in the woods of 12 learning how to swim?" She laughs a little as if the mere thought of this is funny. And I suppose in a way, she's right. There was definitely a time when picturing Madge Undersee out at the lake swimming would have made me laugh too. Back before I really knew her.

"I could probably go on and on forever about all the things that have changed since I last saw you. Things with me, things about life in general. And I will. I'll tell you every last thing that comes to my mind. I'll come see you every day. We'll sit and talk and I'll bring Gale too sometime. I want you to meet him. I'm going to go now so you can rest though. You've had a long day and that's probably what you need most right now is your rest."

I watch as Madge gets to her feet, leans over and kisses her mother's cheek. "I love you and I'm so happy you're safe now."

When Madge comes out of the room, she startles a bit to see me leaning against the wall outside her mother's doorway. Her eyes are bloodshot and watery. All of a sudden I question whether or not I should have been listening in on such a private moment but those questions vanish from my mind the instant I see her smile. She smiles amidst her tears and I lean down, kissing her forehead as I hold her face in my hands.

"She's here. She's really here." She whispers to me.

"I know." I whisper back. "I know."

A/N: I'm so sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter posted. I'm even sorrier to tell you all that it will probably be at least a week before my next update posts. I'm going on a week long vacation in a couple days and I don't know that I'll have much time for writing while I'm gone. I'll try and squeeze in time to write one more chapter before I leave but I may not have time. I'll try my best though!

And thanks again to all my readers and reviewers!