DISCLAIMER: HG characters do not belong to me.

Chapter 26-Second Chance

Katniss was lost in her thoughts when Spencer approached her and said, "Do you want to use the bathroom now Miss Everdeen?"

Katniss snapped back to attention, "Uh—yes" she quickly responded, trying to remember why he approached her. 'Oh that's right, he's taking me to see Sequoyah'.

Katniss got out her seat and followed Spencer along a narrow hallway. They came to a locked door, Spencer taking out the keys and opening it. Before he let Katniss in he said, "Commander Hawthorne named me second in command, that's how I have these keys. You have 4 minutes."

Katniss nodded and gave a thankful smile. She went into the room and saw Sequoyah sitting in what looked to be a semi comfortable chair. Her hands tied by what looked like a laser beam. She didn't know if this was a new technology Panem's military was using, but Katniss could tell that the laser was not hurting her though she was not moving her arms much.

Since Katniss didn't have much time and Sequoyah just stared blankly at her, she decided to get right to it. "I wanted to come see you, because there's something I need to ask you."

Sequoyah raised her eyebrows in response, not uttering a word.

"Have we met before? When I look at you, I feel like you remind me of someone."

Sequoyah looked down at her hands with a smirk on her face. "I was wondering when you were finally going to ask me that."

"So we have met before?" Katniss asked eagerly.

"Oh yes, we met. Back in District 11. I stared you down until you decided to speak about my sister."

Katniss's mouth immediately felt dry, like she couldn't speak. 'Oh no, Rue's little sister'' She thought to herself. Katniss began to feel the guilt rise up of that day, at how originally she was only going to have Peeta speak. But when she stood there watching Rue's family cry, she knew she had to speak about Rue. She remembered how she thought Rue's sister who was staring at her was about 9, possibly 10. Her siblings looked just like her then, she imagined if Rue had lived, she would look a lot like Sequoyah does now.

When Katniss did finally have the courage to speak, she said, "What did you think of my speech that day?"

Sequoyah's look turned hard, similar to how she was looking at Katniss that day on the Victory Tour. "I could tell it was from the heart, but, I truly believed then as I still do, that you were not going to say anything if I hadn't stared you down like I did."

"You would be correct" Katniss replied.

"Why?" she asked coldly.

"Because I'm a coward, but I knew I if I didn't say something I'd never be forgiven by the people of District 11."

"You would be correct" Sequoyah mocked.

"I just didn't think I could face you and your family that day. How was I supposed to give a speech about my Victory and how great the Capitol was when your sister died because of me?"

"You could have read the words on the cards I saw Peeta holding."

"No way" Katniss responded shaking her head. "I may have been a coward making Peeta do the speech, but there was no way I was going to read a speech written by someone else concerning your sister. She meant too much to me for that. She wasn't just some random person the arena, she was an innocent child."

Sequoyah finally smiled then. "It is because of what you just said that my District joined the rebellion."

"For years the memory of your sister haunted me in my dreams, it would still haunt me if not for—the help I received from the Natives."

"And now I will end up in a jail cell in the Capitol. It was hard enough for them to lose my sister to the Games. Now, they will have to deal with another mouth to feed and the disgrace of me being dismissed from the military." Katniss noticed that her smile has now turned to a look of shame.

"Maybe that won't happen." Katniss said gently.

Sequoyah looked up at her and snickered. "After Rue died I became the oldest sibling. I had a lot of responsibility. While there is a lot more freedom in my District, the way of life there is still hard. My parents were so proud when I got accepted into the military academy. I let them down."

Katniss was quiet, thinking of the right thing to say. She wanted to ask why Sequoyah didn't reveal she was Rue's sister earlier when she heard Spencer knock on the door and quickly usher her out.

"I wasn't done" Katniss said to Spencer as he walked her back to her seat.

"Sorry but I said you only had 4 minutes, I gave you 5."

"I need to talk to Gale, right now." Katniss said urgently.

Spencer stopped walking and turned to face her and said, "You can't tell him I took you to see her, I did this as a favor to you."

"Trust me, can you do that?" Katniss gave Spencer a serious look.

Spencer sighed and said, "Alright, I'll let him know you want to speak to him. But remember what I said."

Katniss smiled and went back to her seat.

Spencer knocked on the pilot's door, he heard Gale say, "Come in."

Spencer timidly walked into the cockpit of the hovercraft. Gale sitting behind the two pilot's Topper and Woodard. Gale turned around and saw Spencer and said, "What is it?"

Spencer started to fidget suddenly feeling stupid, "Sir, it's Miss Everdeen, she had to go to the bathroom so I escorted here there and, well, she-"Spencer had trouble finishing his sentence he was so nervous lying to Gale.

"She what?" Gale said confused.

"She asked if she could speak to you—alone" he finally blurted out.

Gale grunted, 'of course she wants to talk to me' he thought to himself. It was typical Katniss, not accepting his brush off earlier.

"Alright, I'll be right there" he said to Spencer. Spencer in turn quickly walking out.

One thing Gale liked about Dez was that while at times she could be just as much as a handful as Katniss, when he needed space, she gave it to him. She would go out with her friends or spend time with her family. With Katniss, it was always the two of them, and while he liked it that way for the most part, she never gave him space because she was so stubborn. He would always have to storm off when they argued, and he hated that he had to do that. When they fought over leaving District 12 he ended up hunting a turkey and bringing it to Cray's only to find out he was no longer there which resulted in his whipping. He often wondered over the years if things between them would have been different if hadn't stormed off over their spat. Would she have ever ended up kissing him the way she did if he wasn't hurt?

Katniss also could never give Gale the space he wanted because besides him she had no one else to spend with besides her family. Even when she returned from the Games the first time she spent more time with his family than with Peeta. Katniss was always possessive when it came to him, always needing his support. He likes that Dez has a life beyond him.

He sees even after all these years, this still hasn't changed about her.

He finds her in her seat and approaches her saying, "I heard you want to talk?"

"Yes, alone if possible."

He nods at her to follow him. He takes her into a supply room and shuts the door. He turns and faces her, not saying anything.

"First, I wanted to say I am sorry about our last conversation, I didn't mean to upset you."

He doesn't respond and keeps staring.

"And—I wanted to say I was sorry for prying about wanting to know what you were going to discuss with Paylor. You are right, that was not my place."

"Is that it" he says shrugging his shoulders.

Katniss sighs, silently cursing him for making this so difficult. "Can we be friends? At least try?"

This time Gale responds with a look of surprise. But his response surprises her even more. "I don't know if I can."

She has a crushed look, it pulls at his insides, but he can't let her possessiveness take control like last time.

"You know, I always knew you would move on and forget about me." She says with a tint of sadness in her voice.

Gale laughs, "Seriously, that's what you thought?"

"Yes" she says heatedly. He could tell her anger was rising.

"Well you are wrong, I may have moved on, but I didn't forget about you."

"I thought even if the Hunger Games never happened that you and I would have grown apart and gone our separate ways anyway."

"Wrong again. I never thought that. If the Hunger Games never happened, would you have been with me?" he asks challenging her.

She stares into his grey eyes, not wanting to answer the question but knowing if she had any chance of making any progress in trying to make things right she had to.

"Yes, I think I would have."

He has a look of satisfaction on his face, hearing this truth. "Then why did you think we would go our separate ways?"

"You could have had any girl you wanted in the Seam, in the town even. I always knew you would have no problem finding a wife. Someone who would have given you what you wanted-a family."

"Doesn't mean I wanted those other girls. And what I said was I might want children, I never said that was an absolute."

She doesn't respond and looks at the floor. Not knowing what to say.

"Look Katniss, it's not that I don't want to be your friend, but our friendship was complicated even back then. I always felt like you suffocated me in some ways, you took advantage of my being there for you. Especially when you were so focused on Peeta."

"You're right, I did take advantage. But emotionally you knew I was never the same after I got back from the Games. I am working on these issues, being with the tribe helped me a great deal. I hope to return to them and still get the help I need. I'm asking that you give me a second chance as a friend. Let me prove to you that I won't take advantage again."

"I'll think about it."

She was hoping for a different answer, but this one would do. "Thanks" she said smiling.

He lays his hand on her shoulder and squeezes it, his first attempt at comforting her since they were reunited.

"I do need to ask one more thing though."

He takes his hand off her shoulder immediately.

"Will President Paylor be the one who decides what happens to Sequoyah and Trent?"

He looks relieved that this is her question. "No, there's a person in Panem's military who handles these matters."

"But she can override that decision right?"

"She can, why do you ask?"

"Hopefully when you tell me we can be friends again I can tell you." She then gives him a smile and returns to her seat.