A/N: We're getting really close to the end guys...thanks so much for sticking with me all this way and enjoy!


Snow's Quell announcement turned out to have mixed results. Instead of terrifying the Districts into submission, his speech actually pushed some of the others into joining. The night of the announcement, rebellions started in both Six and Three.

Lagan Corsair's efforts were proving to still be the most successful, and the Capitol was effectively powerless in that District. The new fighting in Six and Three helped ease some of the pressure that Seven and Eight were facing, and Eight especially took new ground after that night.

The Rebellion'd been especially hoping to get Five, Nine, Ten, or Eleven on their side too, but since those districts provided the energy and food to the Capitol, its most important commodities, it was likely the Capitol was working hard to keep their power there.

Cinna arrived at Thirteen like he'd promised, and Katniss got to officially meet him and his family. Cinna's husband was named Lux Rococo, but went by "Roco". And they had three sons: a ten year old boy named Ajax and adorable four year old twins named Orion and Apollo.

Katniss learned that there was actually program in the Capitol to help families adopt orphans from the Districts who couldn't have children of their own. The twins were adopted from Four and Ajax from Eleven. Cinna's husband wanted to adopt three girls next, but Cinna'd told him that they had enough on their plate until the rebellion was over.

"See, we're not all evil," Cinna told her as he had lunch with her one day.

"We plan to adopt girls next," Roco told her with a big smile on his face. "I want at least three more." Katniss couldn't help but notice that Cinna didn't seem to be in on this plan. "What?" he said, putting his hand on Cinna's softly.

"I think we've got enough going on right now with the twins and the Rebellion," Cinna said.

"But the Rebellion's an even bigger reason to adopt…Think of all the orphans…."

Cinna also told Katniss that Peeta'd never contacted him again after their phone conversation. "He seemed pretty committed to staying on good terms with Snow," Cinna explained. "And Effie too."

Katniss felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't thought about Effie in ages, but she wasn't surprised at Effie's choice.

In retaliation to Peeta's powerful speech, other former Victors came to make propos of their own, countering Peeta's stance. Finnick left the Capitol and openly took up arms in Four alongside Corsair. He made a video explaining why Snow's newest announcement forced him to leave the Capitol and align with the rebellion.

"He could no longer ignore the Capitol's evil," he said. "It was time to do what's right."

According to Beetee's info, Finnick's video was very popular. A girl named Annie made one as well, as did Johanna and another victor from Seven named Cecilia. So did Haymitch.

His video was the first time Katniss had seen him since he'd stayed to fight in Eight. He looked like he'd aged years in the week or so he'd been gone, and Katniss noticed he'd taken up smoking as well.

Finnick's piece was especially popular – and his departure caused quite a stir in the Capitol since he was seen by many to be the Capitol's darling. But all the propos helped boost morale in the rebelling districts and pulled more sympathy to their side.

Katniss made a propo as well. She sat behind a desk in her Mockingjay suit in a small studio in some corner of Thirteen. The lighting was dark, and it looked like she was in a bunker working somewhere. In it, she read the lines Plutarch had written for her and told the people of Panem that they deserved something better than Snow's tyranny and asked them to help her fight.

Even she had to admit it was not her best work and it failed to inspire much of anything other than boredom.

Two days after the Quell announcement, however, Three fell back under Capitol control. Beetee took this especially hard since this district was his home, and Katniss agreed to do another propo of her own.

"Send me back out into the field," she told Coin. "You know I'm better out there."

Coin agreed.

She and Gale fought about it when he found out. He didn't want her doing anything that might put her in danger, but she insisted it was a worthwhile risk. She still felt like she was in a large part, not responsible for, but accountable to the Rebellion. And if there was something she could do to help it, then she was going to.

"I won't put myself in any danger," she insisted when they were back in the privacy of their room.

Gale laughed. "That's what you said last time, Catnip, and went running towards a burning building in the middle of a shoot out!"

"But I didn't get hurt," she maintained. "And I won't do that again, I promise!"

She looked at him fiercely, but also fearfully. Katniss hadn't admitted it, but the Capitol regaining Three frightened her. What would happen if they got Seven or Eight also? What would happen to them? The Rebellion couldn't afford to lose any more momentum. And if there was one thing that could give them momentum, it was her.

"I'm going with you," Gale said, still unhappy with the whole situation.

She approached him and softly took his arm. "I know."

"Damn it, Katniss, if anything happens to you…" He grabbed her in a fierce hug, his emotions getting the better of him.

It was decided that Katniss would go visit a hospital in Eight that weekend, and Gale threw himself into his physical training so he could repass his tests and go with her. He nearly killed himself doing it, refusing to take it easier at Katniss's, his mother's and even Beetee's request, but that weekend, they were both suited and being sent back to Eight.

Cressida and her team were with them and they landed in a quiet field far away, walking nearly an hour before they got to the site. Katniss was hoping she'd get to see Haymitch, but she was told he was deep in the fight in the heart of the district. The hospital was far from the action, and Six had sent some cars over now that they were making headway in their District to help transport the soldiers and wounded. From what Katniss gathered from the soldiers talking , Haymitch had earned quite the reputation for himself in Eight. And it wasn't one Katniss would ever have guessed: He was respected. Even Organdy deferred to him, and under Haymitch's command, Eight was gaining ground.

In the hospital, Katniss walked around the Hospital, her heart both sank and floated.

"Look, it's the Mockingjay!"

"It can't be!"

"Really! It's her! She's here to save us!"

"Mom, look! Look!"

Katniss had to fight back tears, as she walked up and down the aisles of wounded, mostly women and children.

"Where are all the men?" she whispered to Gale. "Why are they targeting women and children?" Katniss knew the Capitol was cruel…but this?

Gale's eyes shifted, and she knew he knew something he didn't want her to know. He didn't even have to say it:

Oh, she realized, the Capitol was killing all the men.

These people were the survivors from the fringes of the attacks. Anyone who was actually fighting was being killed.

Katniss grabbed Gale's hand tightly as she realized.

Katniss spent almost an hour with the people, stopping and letting them touch her face, shake their hands, listening to their stories, assuring all that things would get better.

"Are you okay?" she asked one small boy, who was sitting alone in the corner. He had dark, thick curly hair and reminded her of a child she might see in the Seam.

"I don't know," he said, looking down at his feet.

"What's wrong?" Katniss asked, her face wide with alarm.

"I don't know," he said again. She realized he wasn't being evasive, he was just afraid. This poor child was scared and alone

"Oh," Katniss said, relieved he wasn't injured in some way. She reached out to him softly and he slowly looked up. "You don't have to be afraid anymore," she smiled, "you're safe here."

The boy looked around, stopping on Gale and the other soldiers, all armed with guns.

Katniss understood his fear.

"You know why my dad used to do when I was afraid?" she said, recalling an old, old memory.

The boy's eyes got big; he wanted to know.

"He used to sing to me," Katniss said fondly. "He had such a beautiful voice. It always made me feel safe and warm."

The little boy stared at her expectantly.

"Would you like me to sing to you?"

He took a few moments responding, like he wasn't quite sure if he could trust her, but he finally nodded slowly.

Katniss let her mind wander for a few moments, trying to recall one of the songs her father sang to her that made her feel better. Her first instinct was to sing the same song she sang Rue, but she couldn't make herself to that. That song was too tinted with sadness. Instead, she settled on "The Miner's Song," a song about the workers finding power and strength. She hoped it would help the little boy to as well.

No, you won't remember

My name in the morn

As I walk to the old mines

To the job I was born.

No, you won't remember

My face when it's noon

As black as all others

From the seams I've hewn.

No, you won't remember

My voice in the eve'

Full of pain and of hunger

That I'll never leave.

No, you won't remember

My prayer at night

A whisper of wanting

A wish for what's right.

No, you won't remember

my death or my life,

'less I throw down my axes

and stand up to fight!

So I'll throw down my ax,

I'll take up the knife,

I'll come for you screaming,

My death or my life!

For I won't remember

And no difference there'll be

'less I come for you screaming:

"Now, you remember me!"

The song had many more verses, about remembering their hearts, breath, tears, sweat...But Katniss had noticed how many people were staring at her and felt uncomfortable, so she wrapped it up. She also realized that the miners in the song were saying how it didn't really matter if they lived or died, and suddenly wasn't as hopeful as she remembered it.

She'd always like how it had a slow, rolling sound in the first verses and then rose in repetitive clatter towards the end. She'd never been able to give the last verse justice. She didn't think she could sing beautifully and harshly at the same time, there wasn't that power to her voice, but her father did it so well. She wished she could take the sound from her memory and let it free in the world.

Now as she looked around at the wide-eyed faces surrounding her, she suddenly wondered what everyone was thinking. She gulped hard and squeezed the little boy's hand.

"Anyway," she said, "that song always reminded me that people could have power if they want to. Remember that, okay?"

The little boy nodded and Katniss smiled at him as she walked to the next row of children.

"Is Peeta with you?" A little girl asked as she went by.

Katniss turned, hurt clearly written across her face. She kneeled down to look the child right in the eye. "No, he's not."

"Why isn't he with you?"

"Because there are more important things than being Peeta right now," she said with a hollow smile.

"Like what?" the little girl asked. Clearly, she only knew Katniss as the girl in love with Peeta and not the revolutionary war hero.

"Like you," Katniss said in a genuinely bright tone, reaching out and playfully poking the little girl on the nose.

The child's face broke out into a big smile and the cameras caught it all. Cressida knew they were getting gold.

On the way out of the hospital, however, they had to seek cover as two Capitol jets flew over them.

"I don't think they saw us," Cressida told them, smiling and relieved.

Everyone else got up, brushed themselves off, and resumed their trek except for Gale.

"What is it?" Katniss asked, noticing how rigid he stood, eyes watching the planes shrink behind them.

"Nothing," he said, trying to shake the thought from his mind. But Katniss reached out to him, her eyes demanding an answer. "It's just…they're headed in the direction of the hospital."

No sooner had he said it than two loud explosions burst from where the hospital's location.

"No!" Katniss screamed, instincts telling her to run in that direction, but Gale grabbed her arm. "Gale, we have to…" she didn't know what they had to do, but she knew they had to do something.

But Gale's eyes remained steely, his grip on her strong, and he slowly shook his head. "There's nothing we can do, Catnip," he said, shaking his head softly.

"We can save them!"

"There's no one left to save but ourselves, now come on." He pushed her in the direction of their hovercraft.

"You don't know that!" Her eyes searched frantically to those of her team mates. Not a one responded to her.

"He's right, from the size of those smoke plumes..." Cressida let the sentence hang.

She wanted to kick, fight, scream at them for giving up so easily. If even only one child had survived in that rubble, one child they could help…

But before she could argue with them anymore, they heard the jets coming back.

"Shit," Cressida said, "They must know we're here. Run back to the ship!"

Gale put his arm around Katniss's waist and helped her forward. But when their hovercraft was just visible in the clearing ahead of them, bullets rained down from the jets. Two of the elite soldiers from Thirteen aimed with their distance rifles. But they failed to hit the jets who were coming in for another crossfire.

"Let me," Katniss said, pulling herself up, and seeing how bad their aim was. "How do you should this thing?" she asked as she took the weapon from the men.

They looked at her questioningly, but she didn't repeat herself as she positioned the gun on her shoulder and aimed it.

"Just, uh, hold down that button there and push down the level there," one said, his tone disbelieving.

Katniss didn't acknowledge him. She just narrowed her eyes on the jets as they came closer, took a deep breath, and fired.

The bullet tore into the side of one of the jets, causing it to spin and hit its partner.

Everyone hollered as they two machines tumbled to the ground. Katniss coolly handed the weapon back to its owner and began walking to their plane.


"That's just perfect," Plutarch said, admiring the films sent back to him. He spun around in his chair smiling to face Katniss and the team that accompanied her to Eight.

"That song, and then the exchange with the child, and that bit about Peeta, that's better than I could have written..." he said gleefully. But Katniss just stared at him stony eyed, not really interested in his praise. All she could think about where all the dead children she'd just seen and how her shoulder hurt from the gun's recoil.

"And look, that is the face of a true warrior!" Plutarch marveled as he watched the clip of her shooting down the plane. Her eyes were unflinching, fierce. "I can't believe how lucky we got to get you shooting down a jet!"

"Lucky?" Katniss wanted to kill him.

Plutarch turned and a confused look crossed his face. "Yes. You took down not only one but two jets, and we caught it on camera!" He was acting like he'd just won the lottery.

"Those jets destroyed a hospital."

"I'm aware." He turned back to the screen, swiping through the footage, and returning to his work. "It's too bad you didn't say something marvelous after you shot it down, but no matter, we'll be able to make something work. I think that song you sang might just do it… "Now, you remember me!" he sang, attempting to intonate her voice. "God, how do you do it?" He smiled at her, not seeming to notice her icy disposition.

Katniss was still dressed in her Mockingjay suit, she still had her weapon beside her, and she imagined loosing one arrow right between Plutarch's eyes.

"Dozens of people died today," she said, her voice low like a growl.

"I know," he said in a more serious tone, but to Katniss it sounded like mock sincerity, "and that is very sad…." Katniss didn't believe Plutarch believed that for a second. "But there's nothing we can do about that, so we might as well look on the bright side-

"The bright side?" her voice almost cracked.

"Their death's will help our cause," Cressida said.

Katniss's mouth dropped, disgusted. "Oh, so it's alright then?"

"Of course it's not alright, Katniss," Gale said, reaching for her hand, "that's why we're doing this."

She rolled her eyes, not wanting to concede the point. There was just no way her head could turn what happened into something good.

But Katniss knew it what happened wasn't Plutarch's fault, even though she hated him for celebrating it. She knew what happened was because of Snow, and she imagined putting an arrow through his head for the rest of the meeting.

Only when she noticed others moving did she realize it was time to go, so she pushed out her chair and headed for the door.

"Catnip, hey, will you wait," Gale called after her.

She stopped abruptly, looking down at her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, tucking his fingers under her chin and tilting up.

She didn't want to look him in the eye, knowing her tears would spill over if she did. "Of course I'm not okay."

"Look, I know today was rough…"

"But it helps our cause, I know," she said bitterly.

"Katniss…" he consoled.

"What? I don't need another lesson on how this helped us."

"Katniss," this time, Gale sounded hurt.

"Sorry. I just...I just told those people they were safe...That'd everything'd be okay…"

"It's not your fault, Katniss."

"I know. It's Snow's. And I want him to pay for what he did."

"He will," Gale said with a heavy tone that for the first time hinted his anger. "Beetee and I are…"

"No, Gale, you don't get it," she said, bringing her eyes to meet his fully, "I want to make him pay. I want to kill him myself."

Gale nodded slowly, taking in Katniss's words, her anger. "Katniss," he began again.

"No Gale, I don't want you to calm me down and I don't want you to try and reason with me. I want to kill that man! He dropped bombs on a hospital full of injured children! Children I said would be safe!"

Her voice started to tremble, and Gale reached out to hold her, but she swatted him away.

"No, Gale! I don't want to be comforted!"

"I'm not trying to comfort you," he said, pulling her into his arms again. "I'm trying to support you."

Oh, Katniss thought, sinking into his strong arms, listening to his beating heart, and believing, at least in that moment, that everything would be okay.


Katniss's anger stuck with her the next few days, and was doubled when she got a notice from Thirteen's Office of Family Services telling her her applications for marriage had been rejected.

"Can you believe this?" she screamed at Gale as he walked in the door, throwing the letter in his face.

He'd come back to the room to change quickly to workout. He'd only barely passed the fitness test before going with Katniss to Eight, and he needed a higher score to keep working. He took a deep breath, not really having time, but looked at the paper.

"Hmmm," he said with a small frown as he read the document and realized what it was about.

"Hmm? That's all you have to say?"

"Well...I…" Gale didn't really have the energy or mental capacity for an immediate response. "They don't still think we're cousins, do they?" He said, sitting down and taking trying to find a reason the letter rejected them and remembering the questions about relations. He sat down on the bed and took off his boots.

"No. We checked the box!"

"Yeah, but if they thought we were lying…"

"Damn it, Gale, this doesn't even upset you, does it?"

"Hey," he said, frowning slightly. "Of course this upsets me. I just don't know what you want me to do about it right now. I've got to workout for an hour and then go back to the lab—"

"I don't want you to do anything about it, Gale!" Katniss snapped. "I can figure it out myself!"

"Okay, then what—"

"I just want you to be upset about it!"

"I'm upset," he said in a thoroughly unconvincing tone.

She glared at him. "Whatever, Gale," she said, snatching the sheet from his hands and marching towards the door.

"Katniss, will you—"

The door slammed shut before he could finish. Gale sighed heavily and fell back into the bed. Katniss had been in a foul mood since they'd returned from Eight. He understood, and he didn't take it personally, but that didn't mean he necessarily enjoyed or appreciated its effects.

After taking a few moments to himself, Gale forced himself up, changed, and when to the gym to train while Katniss hunted down those responsible for rejecting her application.

She stood in line at the Office of Family Services for nearly 45 minutes before being told by the attendant that her application had been pulled and all information regarding it restricted.

"How? Why?" she demanded.

"Restricted means I don't have access to any of that information," the woman was beginning to get annoyed. But not nearly as annoyed as Katniss.

"Well, can you tell me who did it then?"

The woman typed again. "I'm sorry, that's—"

"Restricted, I know," Katniss huffed. She grabbed the letter she'd received and marched out.

She didn't know what she was going to do, but she fully intended on doing something. As she marched out, the directory of Services offered at Thirteen caught her eye.

Now which of you has the power to restrict and withdraw things, she thought to herself. Office of Security, she read, yes, that's got to be it. If those idiots think they're making things more secure by denying me, well, they've got another thing coming...She thought to herself as she marched towards their office.

It took nearly three hours before Katniss was found someone who would discuss the matter with her. She'd yelled at three window attendants, four secretaries, and two officers before she got to speak with someone from the military.

She was explaining her situation to an absolutely befuddled Major who was convinced she was insane when a young woman knocked on his door.

"Miss Everdeen?"

"Yes?"

"Could you come with me please?"

"Good luck, dear," the old Major said with a polite nod.

Condescending jerk, Katniss thought to herself as she followed the woman into an office down the hall and met Plutarch Heavensbee sitting behind a desk.

"Ahh, Miss Everdeen, aren't you looking positively...global." He got up, eyes sticking on her stomach, to shake her hand.

Katniss barely responded.

"Cinna's suits certainly are absolutely marvelous. I'd no idea you were so round."

"What do you want, Plutarch?" Katniss had little patience left, and no kindness for him.

"It's what you want, my dear. I've gotten reports from three separate offices about a woman ranting about mockingjays and marriages."

"Yeah."

"Miss Everdeen, you must understand why you we can't approve your application for marriage."

"No."

"Katniss, you're in love with Peeta."

"No I'm not!"

"I know, but, the world believes you're in love with Peeta."

"So?"

"So, it's hard to believe you're in love with Peeta if you're married to another man."

"I'm having another man's baby!"

"Yes," Plutarch said with a deep sigh that could be best described as restrained disapproval. "But there's nothing we can do about that, so..."

"I'm going to marry Gale!"

"Not while you're the face of the rebellion, you aren't."

"I refuse to accept that!"

"Well, that's your business…"

"No, I want to petition, or appeal or something."

"If you feel you must," Plutarch didn't even look up at her as he spoke, looking over documents on his desk. "But all those will just be rejected too," he said, looking up with a smile he thought was caring. Katniss didn't think it was.

She narrowed her eyes, looking at Plutarch the way she looked at her prey. She refused to accept this and was searching for some way around it.

"And honestly, Miss Everdeen," Plutarch said, looking back down at the papers on his desk, "I'm sure there's something more productive you can be doing with your time."

Katniss felt like she'd been opened up and her anger suddenly dropped out. Plutarch's words burned a hole right through her—and she realized that she did not, in fact, have anything better to do. She didn't have anything to do at all now.

Katniss opened her mouth to say something, but no words came to her.

"Because, I certainly have important work to be doing…" Plutarch said after staring at her in silence for a few minutes.

"Oh, don't let me keep you from your commercials," she said in what was intended to be a much harsher insult than it was, storming out of his office and back to her room.


Katniss's anger and boredom turned in on one another and fueled her farther. She hated Plutarch, and she wanted to kill him almost as badly as she wanted to kill Snow. She paced her room for an hour before deciding that she had to go do something before she went insane, so she did the only thing she could and went and had dinner with her mother and sister—and she was even angry about that.

She waited up for Gale when she got back, and she wasn't sure if she was worried or angry when he didn't come home on time.

He'd been working through dinner since they'd returned from Eight, but it was already past ten o'clock, and he still wasn't back.

When he finally walked in the door, he jumped, surprised to see Katniss still up.

"Oh, jeez, Catnip, you startled me," he said with a soft smile. "I thought you'd be asleep."

"No," she said, her tone was sharp, and Gale prepared himself for another one of her moods.

"You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Gale." She watched as he stripped off his clothes. "Are you?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Yes," he said with a light laugh, "I know what time it is. Are you upset because I'm home late?"

She didn't answer.

"Katniss, I was working."

"I know you were working," Katniss said, trying to figure out what was upsetting her so much. It wasn't that she didn't trust Gale, or even that she missed him, though she did, but she realized she was upset because he had work to do and she didn't. Plutarch's words came rushing back to her:

Surely, you have something better to do.

"I was just…never mind, I'm sure you're tired." Katniss lay herself down and switched off the light.

Gale took a deep breath. He was exhausted, both his body and his mind, and part of him really wanted to just let Katniss be and get some sleep, but he couldn't let himself do that.

He flipped back on the light. "Catnip…"

She turned over so her back was facing him. Gale sat down on the bed next to her and softly stroked her skin, rubbing her back slightly.

"Did something happen today?"

Katniss didn't respond, focusing on keeping all her emotions down. But Gale gently rocked her. "No, Gale, nothing happened today and that's…"

And Katniss lost it. Her emotions overswept her, and all her problems came tumbling out. Out she there was nothing she could do, how everything she'd done was wrong, everything she would do was wrong…

Gale eventually managed to pull her into his lap and hold her.

"And I'm just here, alone, all by myself, and there's nothing I can do. And you're gone because there's too much for you to do…"

Gale felt bad. He could sympathize too easily with his recent stay in the hospital, and he felt guilty it'd never crossed his mind that Katniss might be feeling the same way. He'd assumed that with her pregnancy, she'd be happy to have little to do. But he realized that wasn't Katniss. She always needed to do something, to help people, and nothing was going to change that.

When she calmed down, they talked about possible jobs she could do and agreed to look into it tomorrow.

As they said goodnight to each other and Gale pulled her into his arms, she realized she hadn't even got to telling him about Plutarch or why their marriage application was rejected, but since she was calm and he was ready to go to sleep, she decided to leave that until another day.


Katniss's mom was able to get her a job in the clinic with her and Prim, but it did little to ease Katniss's boredom. Since she didn't want to work with patients, she was tasked with checking the doctor's notes that the computers couldn't decipher.

Katniss had little patience for it, and hated sitting behind a desk, trying to read the doctor's impossible script, and trying it into a database. After the first few hours, she'd stopped trying to figure it out and just accepted whatever the software suggested.

"Patient complained that their hand was camping," a stern nurse read back to her, unhappy with her work. "You're telling me that what you honestly thought it said?"

"Yes." Katniss avoided her eyes.

"What did you think the patient meant when they complained their hand was camping?"

"I don't know. I'm not a doctor, I didn't think that was my job."

"It didn't occur to you that they probably meant cramping?"

Katniss shook her head and the woman rolled her eyes.

"What about this. 'Child has a running noose?'"

Katniss shook her head again.

"A broken table?"

Another shake.

"From now on, Miss Everdeen, please use a bit of common sense. People don't come here when they're tables are broken, but when their tibias are. And children don't have running nooses but noses."

"Okay."

"Good. Because if you can't do this job, we'll have to find something else for you, like scrubbing bed pans."

Katniss scowled at the woman as she walked away and then at the next illegible doctor's script. As she tried to decipher the next note, a messenger came requesting her presence.

She was so eager to get away from her job, she didn't even think to ask where they were going, and jumped to leave, so it was only as they were walking to their destination that she realized that she was probably going to see Plutarch and that this had something to do with the Mockingjay.

She hoped everything was going well for the Rebellion as she entered the conference room. Coin, Beetee, Gale, Plutarch, Cinna, Cressida, and her assistant were all present.

"Ahh, Katniss, lovely," Plutarch said, getting up as entered. "Now that we're all here, I'm excited to show you all what we've been working on for the past few days."

Katniss felt her heart clench, she didn't want to remember the incident. She closed her eyes as Plutarch dimmed the lights, and she stomach somersaulted when she heard children's voices call her name:

Look! The Mockingjay!

Really! It's her!

She's here to save us!

Katniss thought she might get sick as heard a soft music start up. It carried the tune of the Miner's Song, but instead of hearing her voice sing, she heard that of several children.

Katniss was so surprised, she opened her eyes.

On the screen before her, Plutarch had patched together a montage of children from throughout Panem. Children working in the fields of Eleven, in the factories of Eight, in the fisheries of Four. Children heading to the Reaping, children dying the the Games. As the images flashed before her, their voices sang a modified version of the Miner's Song. But instead of singing "No, you won't remember," they asked, "Will you remember…" And their voices were somehow sad and hopeful at the same time as they sang about working in the various districts.

The end showed another image of Katniss with the children. Their voices blended into hers, and she sang the final line, which they'd slightly altered to, "Now, you remember us."

As the clip ended, Katniss felt tears coming to her eyes. She looked up at Plutarch as the lights came back on, and she quickly had to check herself to make sure she wasn't tearing up. The piece was powerful, moving, beautiful even. She suddenly saw him in a new light.

Everyone was speechless, and Plutarch had a satisfied look on his face.

"We're releasing that piece in One, Two, Three and Five, hoping to motivate the more comfortable citizens into action," Plutarch said. "Justice and duty haven't convinced them to join us yet, so I figured guilt just might do the trick."

Katniss couldn't help herself; she smiled. Everyone else in the room nodded, clearly impressed.

"And, this is what we'll be using to motivate the troops." Plutarch clicked a switch and the lights dimmed again.

This piece showed her and others fighting, and Katniss was almost positive they'd used a body double for her in a few parts. It was exciting and exhilarating, and ended with Katniss shooting down the two jets, saying, "Now, you remember me." But it didn't sound like she was singing, instead, it sounded like a threat, and it played as the camera zoomed in on her fierce and unforgiving face after she'd shot down the planes.

Plutarch turned on the lights to reveal a room full of impressed faces. Even Katniss's. She knew this was all camera tricks and scripts, but she felt ready to grab a weapon and go fight wherever after seeing it.

"We'll be showing that in all the districts, but especially the ones already rebelling, hoping it gives them a bit of an edge," Plutarch said, trying to sound humble.

"Very impressive work," Coin said, and everybody nodded. "Thank you."

"Just doing my part, ma'am," he said, "like we all are."

Katniss wasn't certain, but she was pretty sure he was staring at her when he said that.

Katniss decided not to go back to work as the meeting finished and asked Gale if he'd go to dinner with her.

"Come on, Gale, you haven't eaten with me all week."

"I know, I'm sorry, but we're running simulations for Three."

Gale and Beetee had been running computer models of fighting strategies trying to figure out what would help the rebels. It turned out Gale was surprisingly good at figuring out the Capitol's tactics and coming up with ways to out maneuver them.

"Fine," she said unhappily, "and I guess you probably won't be back before I go to sleep either?"

His eyes were an apology.

"Fine," she said even more unhappily, "but remember, tomorrow's my doctor's appointment and I want you to be there."

"Of course." Gale had actually completely forgotten about this.

"You said you'd be there."

"I will, I promise," he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. He knew he'd been working too much recently, but he wasn't going to miss this.


Katniss checked the time as she sat in the waiting room for her doctor's appointment. She still had twenty minutes till her appointment. She'd been hoping that Gale would arrive early, but kept reminding herself to be patient.

She also had to remind herself to stay calm, but she couldn't deny that she was excited. This was the first thing that'd put her in a good mood in days, and she was especially looking forward to seeing the baby on the sonogram with Gale. Katniss fondly cradled her stomach, thinking encouraging words to her baby, when a nurse called her name and broke her from her reverie.

"Miss Everdeen?"

"Yeah," Katniss got up.

"This way please."

Katniss shot a look down the hall, hoping to see Gale, but didn't and followed the nurse into the examination room.

"How are you feeling today?" the woman asked with a kind smile. This woman – Nurse Branch – was a definite upgrade from her last one. Katniss shuddered remembering the icy Nurse Stone.

"I'm feeling pretty good."

"Great, let's get you changed into your dressing gown, and then we'll weight you and take your vitals before Dr. Bloom comes in for the examination."

"Okay," Katniss complied, also excited about seeing Dr. Bloom again.

"Hmm, have you been eating well?" Nurse Branch asked as Katniss stepped off the scale.

"Yeah, I mean, I eat whatever they give me."

"Do you know if you've lost any weight since we started rations?"

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I'm only getting bigger."

The lady smiled. "Well, you're still a bit underweight than we'd like. Ideally, you'd be gaining a pound a week at this point in your pregnancy, and you've only gained three since your last check up."

Really? Katniss wondered. She felt like she'd gained ten.

"And you were a bit underweight when you got here, so I'll just make a note of it for Dr. Bloom. She can write a prescription for more food."

"Okay," Katniss said, feeling like she'd done something wrong.

"Don't worry," the nurse said comfortingly. "It's just that now that you're entering your final trimester, it's really time to start packing on the pounds."

Katniss gulped and looked at her stomach. Her belly was a perfectly manageable size right now, though it wasn't small, it wasn't overly or cumbersomely large. She honestly couldn't imagine getting any bigger.

"Take a deep breath in for me," the woman asked and proceeded to check the rest of Katniss's vitals. "Great," she said, finishing and scrawling notes on her clipboard, "everything looks and sounds good. If you just want to follow me into the room across the hall, Dr. Bloom will be with your shortly."

Katniss hopped up on the table in the room and smiled as the nurse set her clothes on a chair and shut the door.

Katniss drummed her fingernails on the chair wondering where Gale was when the door opened, startling her slightly.

A man entered the room, adjusting the doctor's coat. "Ahh, Katniss…"

"Yes," she said with a suspicious voice. She didn't know who this man was, but the only people she wanted to see were Gale and Dr. Bloom. "Where's Dr. Bloom?"

"I'll be taking care of you today, she's indisposed."

"But I want to see Dr. Bloom. I saw her last time."

"Well, you'll be seeing me today."

"Can't I wait for her?"

"No," he said, starting to sound annoyed. He reminded Katniss of Nurse Stone from her first visit. "I'm afraid not. Now up on the table, let's get started," he said, snapping a latex glove on his wrist.

. . .

Gale cursed as he saw the time. He and Beetee had been so absorbed in their work that he'd forgotten the time.

"Shit, I've got to go."

"Oh? Oh, yes," Beetee said, remembering. "You're quite right, don't want to be late."

"Yeah," Gale looked at his watch. He was already five minutes late. "I'll be back," he said as he walked to the door, "in an hour or two probably."

Beetee still had his nose to the computer screen. "Take your time," he said without looking up as he typed into his machine.

Gale broke out into a jog once he hit the hall, cursing himself for forgetting the time and muttering apologies as he pushed past the people of Thirteen. The elevator he took seemed to stop at every floor, and Gale considered jumping out and taking the stairs as people shuffled in and out.

Tapping his foot impatiently, the elevator finally arrived at his floor, and Gale sprinted out down the hall to the doctor's area, asked what room Katniss was in. He was almost fifteen minutes late now, and he was thinking up his apology as he rushed to find her door.

. . .

"Up on the table now," the man said. He flashed a smile that Katniss could tell was forced. If he meant it to be comforting, it wasn't.

Katniss was almost happy Gale wasn't with her; she wasn't sure she wanted him around while another man did her examination.

"Feet up, now."

Katniss complied, putting her feet in the stirrups and lay down on the table. She closed her eyes, and waited for the man to begin, waited for him to say something, but he did neither. After a few moments passed, Katniss opened her eyes about to ask the man what he was doing.

She was shocked to see him holding a large needle. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing to worry about," he said, taking her arm. Her skin crawled as he touched her.

But Katniss knew he was wrong. Everything about this was wrong, from the moment he'd walked into the door adjusting what she now realized was a too small doctor's coat that clearly wasn't his, to the needle he was holding now.

He flashed his smile again, and Katniss's stomach flipped in disgust. She could not trust this man.

She jerked her arm away, but he held on tightly, twisting it in pain, and dispensing with any more pretense.

"President Snow sends his regards."

Katniss grabbed the metal medical tray on the other side of the table and slammed it into the man's head.

"Bitch!" he screamed, wielding the needle like a knife now and plunging it towards her.

Katniss threw up her arms to shield her face, and the point sliced across her arm and into one hand.

Katniss tried to jump out of the bed, but she struggled to get her feet out of the stirrups. The man grabbed her again, but she managed to kick him with her free foot, shoving him a few feet back.

He laughed. "I was going to take you out the easy way, but now I think I'll have a little bit of fun," he said, tossing the needle to the ground, spitting blood from his mouth, and lunging for her.

Katniss pulled her other foot free and rolled to the floor, falling hard on her knees, on the other side of the table.

On the floor, she saw Dr. Bloom's eyes were staring straight into hers. Her body had been stuffed under the table, and Katniss suddenly realized this man had killed her to get to her.

Her horror paralyzed her for a moment too long, and the man grabbed her by her neck and started to pull her up.

Katniss turned over, struggling to get away.

"You…you killed her!"

"Yeah, and I'm going to kill you too." For the first time, he flashed a real smile. He was enjoying this.

She tried to kick him again, but didn't have as good of an angle this time, and he was able grab her foot and twisted it cruelly.

Katniss cried out in pain.

And then, Gale opened the door.

His instincts overtook his shock and he immediately lunged at the man, pulling him off of Katniss and throwing him into the wall.

The man had gotten a few good hits on Gale, but Gale'd overtaken him and was straddling him, his hands tightening around his neck. The assassin clawed at Gale's hands, but he was no match for Gale's strength, and as he lost oxygen, his limbs began to shake and his eyes bulged. He looked at Katniss with the same eyes she'd seen on Dr. Bloom, and it horrified her.

"Gale!" Katniss screamed, wanting him to stop. "Gale!"

Gale didn't know how many times she'd said his name, but her sound of panic finally caught his attention.

"Stop! You're going to kill him! Stop!"

Gale wanted to tell her that was the point, but when he saw the horror on her face, he stopped realizing she couldn't bear it. His hands held onto the man's neck for a moment longer than his brain wanted them too, still ruled by his instinct to kill, but Gale finally let go and smashed the man in the temple in the way he'd been taught to in training to knock him unconscious.

Gale immediately flew to Katniss. She was holding on to the examination table, barely keeping herself up, trembling badly. Her arm was bleeding from the needle's slice as were her knees from landing on the spilled medical instruments on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Gale grabbed her, "are you okay?"

Katniss didn't react, unable to make herself stop looking at the man's figure on the floor. Gale finally had to take her face in his hands and make her look at him.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded.

Gale pulled her to his chest and immediately sent an emergency signal through his communicuff, glad he'd remembered all the codes from his training.

As soon as he'd done that, the put Katniss on the table and grabbed some paper towels, starting to tend her wounds.

He asked her several questions, none of which she registered.

"He killed her," she finally said.

Gale wasn't particularly interested in who else the man had killed, and he asked her again what'd happened. "Did he…did he touch you anywhere else?" he said with venom in his voice, wanting to know where the man had touched her and what he'd done to her.

"He killed her Gale," Katniss sobbed.

"Alright," he said softly, taking Katniss into his arms, "it's okay."

"No, he killed here. Just because she was helping me. And now she's dead!"

"It's okay," Gale said, holding her tightly as if it'd make her believe it, "everything'll be okay."