DISCLAIMER: HG CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME
A/N: Sorry for the very long delay in updating-got some unexpected things going on in my personal life that have gotten in the way of writing-I hope to get back on track, and I wrote a longer chapter than usual-as always thanks for the reviews!
Katniss watches Gale as he leaps from the bed and runs over to the small device sitting on the cabin's built in nook eating area in the kitchen. She then looks over by the fireplace and sees Buttercup crouching near his cat bed, the feline on high alert from the continued sounds of gunfire outside.
A part of her wanting to go over and comfort the cat, she refrains for she didn't want to risk getting scratched or worse-bitten. While her relationship with Buttercup had come a long way since Prim's death, she still had her reservations around him.
Rising from the bed and walking over to nook, she stands beside Gale who was sitting at the bench built into the cabin's wall. Katniss in her sleep clothes and Gale only in his boxers, she wraps her arm around his shoulders as she watches him stare intently at the holographic image. Remaining silent as he taps some of the buttons, he reaches up and takes her hand after a few moments, the gunfire now ceased.
"Whatever that was outside, it's gone" he says, the fatigue in his voice.
"Was it an animal?"
"I think so-I saw a lot of scattered movement from the outside image scan. But I don't know for sure."
"Well, whatever it is it's gone now" Katniss says as she pulls Gale away from the bench and over to the bed, curling up beside him as she quickly falls back asleep.
Still bothered by the fact he was not completely sure what the guns were firing at, Gale finds himself nervously tapping his fingers on the soft mattress beside Katniss's shoulder, unsure how much time passes before sleep overcomes him.
They awaken early the next morning and go outside to see what remained of whatever was caught in last night's gunfire. While walking through the early morning fog, they see on the ground five deer carcasses. Katniss frowns as she sees one of the carcasses almost completely torn apart by bullets.
"Must have been a herd I saw on the image scan" Gale says in a low voice.
"Yeah" Katniss says in a tone indicating her displeasure.
"I think that one there I can get a decent cut for us to eat tenderloin tonight" Gale says as he points to the small deer on the ground off to the left.
"Have fun with that. I'm going back to the cabin to let Buttercup out" and he watches as Katniss storms off without another word.
Gale decides to keep his distance from Katniss for the rest of the day. Managing to dismember and drag the deer carcasses far enough away from the cabin once he obtained enough meat for them to cook, he returns to the cabin to begin cutting the meat that was wrapped and sitting on the kitchen counter.
Just as he finished placing the meat on the fire, he hears the door open. Looking over his shoulder, he sees Katniss carrying a neatly folded pile of clothes that she places on the bed.
"Storm's coming, and the temperature is dropping, I wanted to try to do as much laundry as I could out there today" she says, her first words since walking away from him in the woods early this morning.
He mumbles in response as he focuses on the venison cooking on the fire. While he was expecting to continue to have ups and downs with her, he was not expecting her to shut him out not even 24 hours into his visit.
After her clothes have been put away, he hears her go outside. Knowing she went outside to look for the Buttercup, for the cat had not returned to the cabin.
Once the venison is ready, he goes outside and sees her pacing back and forth by the lake while she continued to call Buttercup's name.
"Food is ready" he says as he approaches her.
"He usually comes by now" she says in nervous tone.
"He's probably munching on the deer carcasses I dragged quite a bit away from here. I want to make sure we don't attract any predators to this area tonight."
"We?" she asks in a pointed tone.
"Yes, we….though you've been nothing but cold to me all day" he says in an aggravated tone.
"I didn't ask for you to bring destructive weapons here, I was doing just fine on my own! I won't have any food to eat here if every night my food source gets blown to bits" she huffs as she marches back into the cabin.
They eat in silence at the kitchen nook, refusing to make eye contact with each other. Extremely thirsty after eating, Gale gets up and takes his glass and refills it with water from the kitchen sink and without thinking and takes a large sip. Before he can take another, he feels Katniss's hand brush against his cheek as she slaps the glass away.
"Are you crazy! That water might make you sick!" she screams.
Staring at her in surprise he says, "I wasn't thinking okay."
In response to her frustration, anger, and fear for Buttercup still had not returned, she begins hitting him. Her fists blasting into his chest, as she rises her hand to meet his face, she feels his hands on her wrists, holding her arms down without much force for she was no longer the soldier she once was in squad 451.
"It's not okay!" she screams, then begins chocking on her sobs uncontrollably. "If something happens to you….I'll..…." and instead of finishing what she was going to say she looks down as the tears continue to fall.
"What?" he asks, waiting for her answer as he releases his grip.
But instead of answering, she leans forward and kisses him, a hard, desperate kiss.
When she pulls away, she looks up at him as he wipes her tear-stained face. "Still can't say it huh?"
"It's just words" she says in response.
"Words matter" he says sharply.
"If they always mattered, I would have parted ways with you a long time ago."
She sees the look of hurt in his eyes that quickly turns to anger. As he steps towards her, she instinctively takes a step back, feeling like prey retreating from the predator.
Before she knows it, his lips are on hers. Only these kisses were different, he kissed her not only with passion, but also with aggression. She feels herself being lifted off the ground and quickly moved to the edge of the table, now leaning up against the table as she feels his hands unbutton her pants as he continued to kiss her.
Ten minutes later, Gale lays on the feathered mattress in the corner of the floor, his eyes closed, he reaches up and strokes the side of Katniss's hip as she straddles him while she moved in and out. Tilting her head back, she pants heavily as she quickens her pace. Digging her fingernails into his chest, she feels herself being pulled down forcefully by Gale's strong grip as he brings her body close to his. Feeling his hands on her backside, she begins eliciting a sound a pleasure that she could not control as his hands pushed her body deep into his. Caught up in the intensity of the moment, she is unsure how much time passes as she lays next to him after collapsing in exhaustion, her fingers running up and down his chest.
"Did we just have hate sex or make up sex?" she asks candidly.
He opens his eyes and says, "maybe a little bit of both".
"You never kissed me like that before."
"You didn't seem to mind" he says in unapologetic tone.
"You've been with other girls this way" she says with a hint of jealousy.
"Yes."
"Daisy" she says as she looks off to the side.
Candidness being one of the traits they had in common, he doesn't hold back as he says, "Daisy likes to brag, but it took her a long time until she learned what she liked when it came to sex, and what it took in order for her to orgasm."
"She'd be mad if she knew you were spilling her secrets."
"I wasn't planning on revealing her secrets, and you're the only person I'd reveal them to."
"You liked being with her."
"Of course, I wouldn't have continued seeing her if I didn't."
"She is very beautiful" Katniss says as she begins to think about her patchwork skin and wonders how Gale could possibly think she is beautiful.
"She is, but she's not you."
She looks up at him and grins, and he intertwines his fingers with hers in response.
Just as she was about to lean forward for a kiss, she hears scratching at the door. Bolting up and grabbing her olive-green shirt for their clothes were scattered around them on the floor, she opens the door and Buttercup runs inside. Before she closes the door, she sees it has begun to snow heavily outside, the snow accumulating in the darkness.
Buttercup heading straight for the fireplace and plopping down to warm himself, she fixes him a bowl of food and places it beside the fireplace, surprised when she sees the cat ignore the food, continuing to sprawl out in front of the fire.
"Maybe he did end up eating the deer carcass" she says as she feels Gale's arms wrap around her.
"I'm glad he's back, you ready for another round?" he asks in a playful tone as he then begins kissing her neck.
"Well, we are snowed in, good thing we have the extra meat to eat for later" and she leans up and begins kissing him aggressively. She feels his arm move down her back and lift her up, carrying her to the bed.
Lifting her arms up as he removes her shirt, she turns and looks out the window and stares at the darkness outside, wishing for a moment he could stay and not go back to District 2, for once he left, the feeling of emptiness would return. Pushing the thought from her mind, she brings his head up from her breast and kisses him softly; the two of them quickly positioning themselves on the bed so that they can continue pleasuring each other.
The next morning, Katniss and Gale get ready to hunt for the day once they force themselves out of bed and into the shower. Gale secures the strap of his gun as Katniss finishes lacing up her boots and she refills Buttercup's bowl for the cat refused to go out once he sniffed the frigid air. As they step outside, they see the lake frozen over as they begin walking in the heavy snow.
"Do you think it will melt?" she asks.
"Hopefully. Remember last year the temperatures varied in 13, but it got pretty cold by mid-December, we had left by then, but the residents said the coldest month is January, the same as 12."
"This District is much colder than 12" she retorts.
He places a hand on her shoulder and says, "You still have your fishing equipment and the fish picker I brought last time, right?"
"Yeah."
"You'll be okay, you can fish, and hopefully still find game."
She nods and begins walking behind the cabin, for Gale had his snare line to set up. Once he finishes, they begin walking along the edge of the lake. Gale following behind her, for Katniss was moving at a quicker pace since she had her hunting partner at her side. Going further than her usual route, the landscape changes as they head away from the lake. Once in the woods they come across game, and Katniss easily places two rabbits in her hunting bag. Before they leave the area, a squirrel comes into view, and Katniss shoots the squirrel right in the eye and watches as it falls from the tree. As Gale places the squirrel in her bag, she turns her head as she hears a mockingjay in the distance. She whistles a tune at the mockingjay and waits for the bird to mimic the sound.
She stares up at the trees as she hears the chorus of birds mimic her tune. Watching the last of the leaves left on the trees fall to the snow-covered ground, she begins thinking how things have not really changed, not for her. Here she was, still hunting in the woods with Gale, looking for her next meal. Only now, she is alone, with no family, Gale only temporarily keeping her company.
As she often told herself while sitting in front of the fire after returning to District 12, everything she did for Prim and her mom, was for nothing in the end. The Districts no longer slaves to the Capitol, the nation's new found freedom resulted in her paying the ultimate price.
Her plan to end her life falling through, her new plan was trying to make it through what was probably going to be the hardest winter of her life. If she can manage to avoid being attacked and killed by the abundance of wildlife here, then it was her family's way of letting her know she was meant to stay behind and try to find some semblance of happiness.
But if she were to be mortally injured, it would be just fine with her, though she knew at least two people would be devastated.
Two Days Later
Gale and Katniss descend the hill to head towards the lake's edge. The temperature much warmer and snow now melted, the two decide to go beyond the area of the lake and woods they had hunted in for the past three days. Gale activating a tracking device to help them navigate back to the cabin, they come across another lake, only this one bordered mountainous terrain.
In awe of the beauty of the bright blue water as they make their way down the hill, they see a young moose with its mother as the animal's drink water from the lake. Trying to cover as much ground as they can, they walk quickly along the lake's edge. Thirty minutes later, the landscape changes again and becomes rockier and shortly after, they approach a cave.
Retrieving an automatic light from his backpack, Gale heads inside the cave first, Katniss following behind. Grabbing onto Gale's jacket once the sunlight is gone as they head further into the cave, she yelps in surprise when she feels his hand grab hers as he navigates around the rocky bottom. When Katniss hears a noise that sounded like bats in the distance, she whispers, "Gale."
Knowing his hunting partner better than anyone and knowing when he needed to be cautious, he stops and slowly turns them around, heading for the exit. Before he moves in front of her, she sees him move his head forward in the darkness, his arm raised high above his head.
"What is it?" she says softly.
"Thought I saw a light further down" he says in a concerned tone.
She moves beside him, and he brings the light down closer, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she squints as she moves her head forward, straining to see. Seeing nothing but darkness and feeling the cool air around them.
"Let's go, come on" he says as he pulls her behind him as he moves quickly out of the cave.
Once they are outside, she watches as he takes his backpack off and sets it on the ground as he kneels.
She comes up behind him and wraps her arms around him as she bends down. Placing her chin on his shoulder she says, "It reminded me of the tunnels too."
"It's not that-I'm telling you I saw a light, and something move."
Quickly moving so that she is facing him as she kneels in front of him, her voice rises in surprise as she says, "you think someone is living in there?"
"I don't know, but the light was not natural, and it wasn't light from a fire."
"We would have smelled the smoke."
He nods and looks towards the entrance of the cave. Seeing nothing but the wind causing the remaining leaves to blow past the entrance, he looks at his watch and says, "it's almost noon, we better rest here and eat before we head back, if we leave in the next twenty minutes, we will make it back before nightfall."
She nods and they stand up as Gale grabs his backpack as Katniss moves to find a more comfortable spot for them to sit. Once she finds a sandy area free of rocks, Gale lays out the solid black blanket for them to sit on. When Gale arrived five days ago, he brought a small box of air sealed packaged food. Telling Katniss that he brought the food for her to keep in her bag in case she was stranded in the woods due to weather, the air sealed food would keep predators away. He also brought the food for her to use in case she was stranded inside the cabin, though the food would be gone in less than a week.
He gives her a bag of packaged food as he begins opening his. Katniss thankful for eating something different beside meat and fish, she happily eats the fruits, nuts, and rice.
Seeing her pleasure in eating something different, he offers her his portion of nuts, he sees her pause; contemplating if she should accept it saying, "we've been walking and hiking all morning, and we have the long trek back."
"Go on take it, I'll be enjoying what's in my snare line when we get back more than you will."
"Thank you" she says sweetly as she takes the small container and quickly begins eating.
They sit for a little while longer while they drink water from their water bottles, then pack all their stuff into Gale's backpack and as they stand, Katniss turns and looks towards the cave. Feeling a presence, she heads towards the entrance of the cave, looking around for any sign of someone or something. She tries to calm her conflicting emotions, for while she did not see or hear anything, her gut was telling her something different.
Unable to move, standing as still as a statue, she hears Gale's footsteps behind her as he comes up beside her.
"We can come back tomorrow, bring what we need to light a torch."
"No!" she says in alarm. "We talked about what our plans for tomorrow were."
He grins at her and says, "we better go."
Several hours later, as the sun began to set, Katniss and Gale see Buttercup by the door of the cabin, the cat sitting with his paws tucked under his body.
When they go inside, Katniss quickly fills Buttercup's bowl as Gale goes to check the snare line. Gently petting the cat as he begins eating, her anxiety begins to rise as she waits for Gale to return. As the moments pass, she stands up and begins pacing back and forth. Seeing that it was now completely dark, she turns to retrieve her boots when the door opens. She exhales loudly as she sees Gale's hands full with game.
"Was checking the perimeter area, I think we should set it tonight."
"Okay" Katniss says in a neutral tone as she closes the door. The guns had not been turned on since the first night, knowing eventually she would have to agree to the system being turned on again.
"There's enough here to last three, maybe four days."
"Then we can stay here tomorrow, just like we talked about."
"Sounds like a plan" he says as he leans down and begins kissing her.
The Next Day
Katniss and Gale's 'plan' for the day was to stay inside the cabin all day. Since today was Gale's last full day, they had decided the entire day would be spent in bed.
Deciding to sleep in, Gale decides to wake Katniss at 8:30 am. While she would have preferred to sleep longer, she did not mind being woken up to the feel of Gale's lips on her body. Rising from the bed to go into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth to help wake herself up, she returns to the bed and lifts her arms up as Gale removes her sleep shirt. Inserting his tongue into her mouth as his hands squeezed and caressed her breasts, she frantically removes her sleep pants, followed by her underwear. Climbing on his lap once he kicks his boxers off, their bodies react as if on autopilot, as they move up and down slowly, savoring the feel of each other.
They eat breakfast after, and once Katniss opens the door letting Buttercup out for the day, she feels herself being lifted off the ground and carried back to the bed. They make love two more times before Katniss falls asleep, still fatigued from yesterday's hike.
When she awakens, she sees it is dark outside. Startled that she slept the day away, she sits up and turns on the light and looks around. Gale no where to be found, she calls out for him assuming that he is in the bathroom. When she is met with silence, she pulls down the thick bedspread and turns to get out of bed. As she turns down the covers, she is startled by the sight before her. Knowing she'd be naked under the covers; she blinks as she stares at the large bump protruding from her stomach.
She reaches up and touches it, feeling the baby's movements inside. Recoiling her hand back in terror, she closes her eyes forcing herself to wake up when she hears laughter coming from the other side of cabin.
Recognizing the voice immediately, she opens her eyes slowly as she sees President Snow standing by the cabin door. His lips red and a white rose pinned to his suit, he walks towards her and says, "all alone again, banished to live out the rest of your days in the woods, you don't have much time left."
"You're not real" Katniss says as she pulls the bedspread up to cover her body.
"Oh Miss Everdeen, no need for modesty. I was the President of Panem after all, when you were a tribute, we had cameras everywhere, I've already seen everything there is to see" he sneers.
"YOU'RE NOT REAL! I SAW THEM KILL YOU!" she screams.
"I would have preferred you finished the job yourself, though I did get satisfaction in watching you kill her. Just as I get satisfaction seeing that your life is no better now than it was before, all that you sacrificed, now you're left with nothing. Before you had your home in the Victor's Village, you had Mr. Mellark-what do you have now? A man who is in and out of your life-working for a new government you don't trust-leaving you alone out here with no way to contact him. And in your fragile condition! What if you die in childbirth? Death is easier, how about nightlock berries? I can show you where you can find some not far from here."
"GO AWAY" she shrieks in a voice she no longer recognizes.
"Peeta would never leave you here. He was always such a gentle boy, but you ruined him too, everyone you ever loved dies. Must be why Mr. Hawthorne spent so much time on those bombs, he knew you were a disease that must be stopped. I bet he and Beetee have secretly placed a bomb in this security system so that it blows this place up. That's what they are known for isn't it? Showing no mercy. Maybe the bomb already went off? How would it feel-to not know you are already dead?"
Katniss closes her eyes and screams as Snow's last words repeat over and over in her head.
When she finally realizes she is awake, she gasps as she sits up, looking around frantically. Seeing Gale slowly turn the meat cooking over the fire, his eyes go wide when he hears her stir and he quickly stands up and comes over and says, "You're okay, you're safe."
Suddenly feeling like Johanna with District 13's doctors telling her numerous times a day she was 'safe' and feeling anything but safe, she jumps out of the bed and begins putting on her clothes. Once she is dressed, she puts her boots on and storms outside, as she begins walking towards the lake, she hears the door open and close, Gale calling out to her. Running to catch up, he grabs her arm and says, "what's going on?"
"Get away from me!" she shouts as she physically pushes him away.
He turns around and leaves without another word. She pushes from her mind the quick glance of hurt in his eyes before he left, and she sits down at the edge of the lake in her usual spot. Turning around and looking at the cabin, she blinks a few times, reminding herself she is alive and in District 13. Wishing for a moment she was in back in the hospital and in 'dreamland.' She splashes ice cold water on her face, a desperate attempt to get into a different state of mind and get Snow's words out of her head.
As she feels the cold water run down her face, she finds herself saying out loud, "My name is Katniss Everdeen; I am eighteen years old. My home is District 12, but now I have no home. I was in the Hunger Games, I escaped, I fought in the war against the Capitol Gale helped rescue Peeta from the Capitol, Peeta is okay now, Snow is dead, Coin is dead, I killed Coin. Paylor is the President now. Snow can't hurt me; Coin can't hurt me. They've already taken everything from me."
She repeats the words over and over, and when she opens her eyes, she sees the sun begin to set, the sky orange as the vivid color reflects against the lake.
Once it is dark, she stands up and goes back inside the cabin. She sees Gale sitting at the nook, reading. As she contemplates what she is about to say, she is startled when she feels Buttercup rub his head against her leg. Not realizing that he had returned, she bends down and begins petting him.
"He came back when you were sleeping" Gale says in a curt tone.
"How long was I sleeping?"
"About four hours."
She makes a face in response and says, "guess I was tired."
"Are you hungry?" he says in a gentler tone.
She nods and he gets up and begins heating up her food. She goes over to the nook and sees that he was reading a report and casually asks him what it is.
He informs her it's an analysis report of what they have learned so far of the Capitol's weapons, including supply and design. He goes on to tell her that he is looking over every known document he can find regarding the Capitol's weapons, to help determine if the Capitol or District 13 was responsible for the bomb that killed Prim and her mom.
"So, which one is it?" Katniss asks as she begins eating her food.
"Still figuring that out" he says.
Once she is done eating, she cleans up and when she is finished, she sees that he has finished reading the report. She sits in front of the fireplace and motions for him to join her. She stares into the fire as she finally tells him about her nightmare, and Snow's taunting words.
"I'm doing everything I can get to you out of here, so you can come back with me to District 2."
"I know."
"But?" for Gale knew by her demeanor she was still troubled.
"I don't have a way to contact you."
He sighs in response. He knew he would have to answer this question eventually and was surprised she had not brought this up sooner.
"I want to give you a device, a phone, anything that could be used for you to contact me at any time. But I realized it was better if I didn't-in case it gets into the wrong hands. I can't risk anyone finding you here."'
"The resistance groups you mean?"
"I'm most concerned about them yes, but I'm also concerned about…..members of the President's own team."
"Why?"
"I think some of them are not sincere, are only pretending to be okay with Panem's new government to save their own skin. Because they worked for Snow, they offered up a lot of information, Plutarch convinced her to give some of them a chance, and a new job. Caesar is a good example."
"Caesar is alive?"
"Yes. He just started doing a one-hour entertainment show on Sunday nights, updating Panem on the nation's rebuild, he interviews former Victors and uses that footage in the show. Plutarch thought having a familiar face would help with the nation's healing."
As Katniss envisions Caesar hosting his new show, she sees Gale get up and go over to his backpack, when he returns, he hands her the small tracking device used yesterday.
"Take this-in case you need to find your way back to the cabin when you're hunting. It is already set to this location."
"Won't you get in trouble if you don't bring this back?"
"Don't worry about me. I'm a government official now-the job does come with some perks" he says with a grin.
She gives a small smile back as she puts the tracking device away. When she returns to the fireplace, they sit in silence, watching the wood burn until he says, "I know it's one of the reasons you love him and don't want to let him go-he would have given everything up to stay here with you."
Knowing what he said was true, she tells him another truth and says, "You couldn't quit your job to stay here with me, your family needs you."
"I guess I mistakenly thought you needed me too."
"Gale-"
But before she can say anymore, his lips are devouring hers, feeling the desperation in his kisses. Feeling the direct heat from the fire, she begins to sweat as Gale's hand begins moving down the front of her pants, the other reaching under her sweater.
She pulls away quickly and says, "come on" and stands up and grabs his hand, walking to the bed. Moments later, with their clothes thrown on the floor, she brushes her hand through his hair as his head, now between her legs, stimulates her most sensitive area.
Feeling her heartrate increasing, she bites her lip as her body responds to the pleasure, and before she can recover, feels him push deep inside of her before quickly moving back and forth.
Thirty minutes later, she begins stroking his hair again as she sees him begin to drift off as his head rests on her stomach. She feels him begin to kiss a section of her burned skin, realizing that he was not asleep.
Once his head returns to her stomach, she hears him sigh deeply. She whispers, "what are you thinking about?"
"That I have to leave in about twelve hours."
Her response silent, she refrains from telling him that a part of her was scared to be here alone, fearing her nightmares will slowly consume her.
Raising his head to look up at her, she gives him a serious look as she says, "that gives you about three more hours left….to keep doing to me what you did to Daisy back in 12."
He gives her a serious look as he says, "I never wanted any of those girls in 12, I only wanted you" and leans forward and begins gently kissing her.
The next morning, they wake at 6 am. Making love for a final time, he heads into the shower after as she lays under the covers, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about how much things have changed since their first-time making love on this very bed just over a year ago.
She begins to think about the future, where she'll be a year from now, would she still be in here in 13? Still in this cabin?
While she tried not to think about it her mind shifts, and she wonders-would Peeta be here with her at the cabin like Gale said? All it would take was for her to send a letter, followed by a conversation with Gale to arrange Peeta's transport.
She quickly pushes the thought from her mind. While at times the loneliness was more than she could fathom, she refused to hurt Gale. No matter how conflicted her feelings were, she'd rather die of loneliness than hurt him.
She does not get out of bed once he is ready to leave. Dressed in the same black military outfit he arrived in, he sets his bag and gun down by the door and walks over to her.
"I don't know when I can come back, maybe right before the holidays" he says as he sits down on the edge of the bed.
Sitting up and instinctively covering herself with the bedspread, she stares at his chest as she says, "okay."
Bending his head down so they are eye level, he stares into her eyes as he says, "listen to me-you will be okay-you're strong-just like I told you that day before you left for the Capitol."
"I had a family then Gale."
"You still do Katniss-there's still a lot of people that need you."
She nods her head, trying to remain positive. She sees his face contort as he tries not to show emotion before saying, "I love you."
Despite the intimate moments they spent together in the last week, he never said the words. She reaches up and touches the side of his face before his lips descend upon hers. They gently kiss as she wraps her arms around his shoulders and feels the bedspread fall as he leans her back down on the bed. Her naked body underneath him, she feels her nipples begin to harden as their kisses turn from gentle, to sensual.
Without warning, he pulls away and rests his head against hers, closing his eyes as he says, "I have to go" and gives her one last kiss before getting up and grabbing his bag and gun; not looking back as he walks out the door.
Alone in the room for Gale had let Buttercup out at dawn, she continues to lay on the bed in silence. She is unsure how much time has passed but knows that Gale is up the hill by now, if not departed from 13 already.
As she sits up, she grabs one of the pillows and throws it across the room as she screams. She continues to scream until her voice goes hoarse, then collapses back down on the bed as her screams are replaced by tears.