The trainers started at one end of the line of recruits and moved down. They verified names, orders, ages, and other important information. All this time I was required to stand there and look across the field at Katniss. I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes or look down. The nightmares jumbled together, but I didn't lose consciousness. I just stood completely still.

/

"I have something for you, Peeta. I found some berries," Katniss says. She puts the spoon in my mouth. It's full of smashed berries.

"You're going to go to sleep, Peeta. You're not going to wake up. It's for the best though."

/

"Peeta, I have to make it home to Prim; I have to take care of her…And you know what that means."

"It means I have to die."

/

"On the count of three?"

"The count of three."

"one."

"two."

"three!"

I'm falling to my knees. She's guiding my down so I don't fall too fast. I wonder, why isn't she falling too?

My vision narrows on Katniss where she stands across the training field. I jump and stare at her gun when I hear the cannon that fires only in my head.

/

Everything started to look blurry, but I could still stand. I didn't move.

"Peeta. You're looking kind of green." A voice said. It was Haymitch.

"That doesn't surprise me," I said quietly. The trance was broken, and I looked down at the ground.

"I need to talk to you," he added.

He nodded to the trainer and pulled me aside. Thankfully, we walked to a command tent out of sight of the firing range which left me feeling much safer.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"Not great."

"For the record, I'm completely against this."

"But you can't stop it?"

"No, but I'm doing everything I can to minimize it. You want to sit down?" He asked as he pulled a chair to me.

I sat down gratefully. Closing my eyes, I put my elbow on the arm rest and supported my head with my hand.

"Plutarch wants you and Katniss to do a Propo together. He wants you to look like a happy couple."

I sighed and looked back at him, defeated.

"I can't do that, Haymitch. Orders or no orders, I can't."

"I know," he said. Haymitch sounded as sympathetic as I'd ever heard him sound. "I just wanted to warn you. Be prepared to tell him why."

"How about 'I'm afraid I'll try to kill her again' as a reason?"

"Are you?" Haymitch asked.

"I'd never do it in my right mind, but I'm not always in my right mind."

"You could tell him that. It may not matter though. Protecting Katniss is not as much of a priority as it once was."

I stared at him with unprecidented intensity. He had to know how disturbing that would be for me to hear.

Haymich patted my arm.

"She's with a good unit though, Peeta. Gale and Finnick are going to be with her. Boggs is her commander. The soldiers are the best, and they aren't going to be in any areas where heavy action is anticipated. It could be much worse."

The trainer was motioning for Haymitch to send me back to the group.
"You better get back," Haymitch said. "Good luck at training. "Oh, one more thing. When Plutarch comes to talk to you, be sure and tell him that you can't kiss her."

I winced and shook my head where it still rested against my hand before replaying. "He wants me to kiss her? These people are going to finish what the Capitol started."

Back with my group I could still see Katniss on the shooting range. She was talking to Plutarch. I saw her scowl and angrily walk away.

Another rejection of me, no doubt. It's a wise one though, I thought.

Plutarch appeared late in the day when my group was learning to assemble guns. I was reasonably good at it, and my gun was already assembled when he arrived.

He took me out to the same command tent where I'd spoken to Haymitch.

"Peeta," he said, "you're doing remarkably well here at training considering what you've been through in the past few months. We've gotten some decent video. You could show a bit more enthusiasm though; it would help the quality of the propos."

I was silent, glaring at him in a way I hoped would scare him. I didn't really mind if Plutarch thought I was crazy.

Plutarch cleared his throat uncomfortably before continuing.

"I want to do a propo with you and Katniss as a couple. She's not very excited about it yet, but I think that's simply because your recent encounters with each other have been so uncomfortable. I'm sure you can warm up to each other enough to do the propo if you try harder."

I crossed my arms and stared more, avoiding blinking until my eyes stung so much that I couldn't keep them open any longer to strengthen the effect.

After an uncomfortably long pause, Plutarch asked, "so what do you say?"

"No!"

I slung my newly assembled but unloaded gun over my shoulder and rejoined my training group without another word.

I arrived back at the hospital that evening to find Delly angrily arguing with the doctor. It was actually shocking to me because I'd only known Delly to act this way a few times in her life. Delly had a very protective instinct, kind of like a mother bear. It was usually applied to her brother. This time she was protecting me, and I was very glad to be on the side of the protected rather than the threat.

"This is wrong! After everything he's done for you! How he warned you about that bombing!" She took two steps closer to the doctor and pointed her finger at him accusingly. "They nearly beat him to death for that! Ask Johanna! Ask her! Go look at those x-rays and scans. Even I can see what they did to him!

Watch some of the video of these episodes and see what happens! It's bad enough that you are sending my fourteen year old brother to the Capitol, but at least he's sane. What is wrong with you? What kind of people are you? You are no better than the Capitol if you have no more sense than this! It's like sending children to the Hunger Games!"

She finally took a breath which allowed her to hear the heavy steps that my prosthetic leg makes on the tile floor.

"Peeta!" She said, turning around gracefully and acting as if I couldn't hear what she just said. "How was training?"

"Um, not great."

"Actually, everyone said he did very well."

Delly glared at the doctor.

"I am here to help him," she said pointing to me, "not you! If you want me to continue helping then stay out of my conversations with Peeta."

Haymitch cursed from the other side of the room. "I think you should all be glad that they didn't teach Delly how to assemble a gun today!" He said to the doctor.

The doctor sighed, adjusted his clipboard under his arm, and left the room.