Author's Note- First off thank you so much for reading! Sorry this took so long and it's so short. I really only had the first two chapters mapped out so I am just starting to flesh it out.

I would also like to shout out to titania522. Her story "Good Again" is absolute Everlark perfection and it inspired me to write this.

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

Katniss flinched when she heard the door slam, tears of anger and regret threatened to spill onto her cheeks. She was fine with being broken, she deserved it. There were so many other people who deserved to be alive instead of her. She made the long list in her head every single day, and the last thing she needed was the Great Finnick O'dair rushing to her rescue. How dare he just barge in and expect her to enthusiastically go along with fixing something that could never be fixed. And Haymitch, the traitor, he had been the one who had brought him here. Since when was he responsible for making choices about her life? He wasn't even capable of making his own decisions, the only one he ever made was what case of liquor to start on next. He wasn't her mentor anymore, just someone to trapped in a silent hell much like her own.

She surveyed the kitchen, her eyes landing on Finnick's overturned chair. He may have had no right to storm back into her life, but she knew she had crossed the line. She had said it because she knew it was the easiest way to hurt him. There would always be a piece of his soul missing, an emptiness that would never be filled, that would forever be in mourning. Much like she felt for Prim and Peeta.

She sighed and wiped her face. She realized she was stuck here, in this house with her ghosts. Full of memories, all of them painful now. Finnick had most likely gone back to Haymitch's house, probably to gather his things up and wait for the next train back to 4. She also wasn't entirely convinced she wouldn't claw Haymitch's eyes out. Instead she walked to her mother's medicine cabinet in the study and pulled out the bottle of liquor she kept for emergencies. Taking a swallow she turned and made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. The warmth spreading through her gave her the courage to walk past Prim's room, though she was careful to not even glance at the closed door.

She turned on the light, the glow illuminating the expensively furnished room. Although the white rose and the dead flowers had been cleared away the fainest scent of roses hung in the air. Holding her breath she walked over and flung the window open, breathing in the cool night air. She sat on the edge of the bed and let the breeze take her away.

Taking another drink her thoughts drifted to her house in the seam. As small as it was it had always felt like more of a home to her than this house. What she wouldn't give to be back there, holding Prim and singing her to sleep. Tucking in the shirt tail of her Little Duck. Walking to the Hob with her to trade game and cheese from Lucy, pausing to look at the fancy cakes in the windows of the Mellark bakery. To be back in the forest with Gale, their talks of rebellion and running away just childish fantasies. A secret shared between only them and the forest. But they were all gone and she was left alone with her regrets. As they started to overwhelm her she took a longer drink only stopping when she had run out of breath.

The squirrel stew in her abused stomach threatened to make a reappearance so she laid down on the plush pillows. Between the broken sleep she had on the chair, the warm bath, dinner, and half of the bottle she was exhausted and the bed seemed so comfortable. She knew the nightmares would greet her as they always did, so she let the sleep claim her.

Finnick stared unfocused in the flames in Haymitch's fireplace, his hands mindlessly tying his rope. Occasionally his eyes would turn to the light still burning in Katniss's window. He wondered if she was asleep or pacing in rage after his sudden appearance. He hoped for the former. Haymitch had passed back out shortly after Finnick returned leaving him alone with his thoughts.

In hindsight he probably could have gone about things differently, but he suspected the outcome would have been much the same. He knew that Katniss hated showing any sign of weakness and asking for or accepting help was at the top of that list. She had only been able to depend on herself for her's and her family's survival for so long, but now with no family left for her she would be even more reluctant to accept anything. But she was in for a rude awakening if she thought getting rid of him was going to be as easy as throwing Annie in his face. He had reacted in anger in the moment, but he had expected nothing less from Katniss Everdeen.

He continued to sit quietly until the sun started to peek over the horizon. He watched the blues, reds, and purples dance above the trees and houses in the Victor's Village, enveloping the stars and chasing away the darkness. He could always count on the sunrise and sunset, the only true stability in his life. They came and went everyday uncaring of the trivial nature of humans.

He was too restless to sit anymore so he decided to walk to town. He stopped on the steps and gave Katniss's open window one final look. Just as he turned away her shrill piercing screams shattered the stillness of the morning.

Without a second thought he sprinted to Katniss's house and flung open the door. Her screams continued as he made his way to her room. An all too familiar sight greeted him. He saw her in her bed thrashing and flailing, obviously in the deep throes of another nightmare. Instinctively he walked to her bed and sat on it. He took the flailing girl in his arms and gently tried to wait her up. He was briefly transported back to Four and memories of doing this for Annie, and it threatened to consume him until an elbow caught him in the sternum.

"Katniss, it's not real. It's not real, you're safe. I'm here." While she didn't wake up she seemed to hear and quit fighting, allowing him to cradle her in his arms. He stroked her hair and kept murmuring soft affirmations in her ear while she clung to him like a lifeline afraid the nightmares would drag her back under.

After a few minutes she slowly opened her eyes and stared at him. She seemed momentarily surprised to see him looking back with his stunning sea green eyes but made no attempt to move. All of her anger from last night overcome by the calming effect he was having.

He shifted to make them more comfortable on the bed, resting his upper body against the headboard. She moved with him and continued to let him stroke her hair. His heartbeat steady and strong along with his chest rising and falling with each breath brought her a sense of peace she hadn't felt for a long time. They stayed like that for a long while until her breathing finally evened out and she found herself closing her eyes again. Something told her the nightmares wouldn't return.

In that moment she knew Finnick wasn't going anywhere.