DISCLAIMER: HG Characters do not belong to me.

A/N: I get that some might not have been feeling the last chapter, but from the beginning I wanted that scene to happen, for it begins the chain of events for Katniss and Gale. And I wanted Gale to be the one to kill Geffen after seeing what he had done to Katniss. I know there was a lot of build up with Geffen and his death seemed rushed, but I didn't want to drag it out for I know the scenes were pretty disturbing to read. And to clarify-Geffen's men used objects to rape Katniss. I changed some wording around in the last chapter, realizing I used the wrong word. As always, thanks for the reviews!

Chapter 56-Confessions III

"KATNISS! Katniss-stay with me-please" Gale screamed falling to his knees still holding Katniss against his chest.

"Commander-we need to get her in the submarine-COMMANDER" Abraham says loudly, trying to get Gale's attention. Gale is openly crying, devastated that Katniss is slipping away.

"Commander, she's alive, I can see her breathing" Spencer says coming up to Gale and trying to show him her very faint breaths.

Gale is finally snapped back into the present when he sees Katniss's chest slowly rise and fall. 'She is alive' he says to himself, 'And I need to get her to a hospital'.

He quickly gets up and with Abraham's help, gets Katniss onto the submarine. The submarine sits idle in the water, for a hovercraft should be coming any moment to pick them up. Spencer gets to work on trying to control Katniss's bleeding, Gale beside her, refusing to leave.

When the hovercraft comes only Spencer and Gale get on, the rest of the team heading back in the submarine towards District 4's military base. While on the hovercraft Gale calls Katniss's Mother, informing her that they were on the way to hospital. She says in a very controlled voice she will be waiting at the emergency room's main door.

When they get to the main entrance of the emergency room, Gale sees Mrs. Everdeen along with three other hospital workers. They quickly get Katniss on a stretcher and wheel her off. Gale looks at his clothes and sees that Katniss's blood had soaked into them.

Spencer turns to Gale and says, "Commander, we should probably call the President now right?"

"Right" Gale says, still in a trance.

It all happened so quickly. When Gale's team snuck on the boat, they saw two men on the top deck, sitting and having drinks. His team quickly takes them by surprise, grabbing their mouths to stifle their sounds. They are then quickly tied up, Gale recognizing the one man as Magnus from his picture from the citizen's registry. Gale, Abraham, Robin, and Stone quickly descend down the steps of the boat, making as little noise as possible. Suddenly, they see a man on the main floor, totally catching him off guard. Before he can utter a sound he is restrained and tied up by the four men. Gale and Stone quietly head down the steps the man came from, seeing two rooms down there. Gale can hear a man start to speak, he moves as slowly as a tortoise yet as fast as a rabbit to peak into the room. He sees a man kneeling down in front of someone and hears Katniss speak. He comes closer taking the softest steps possible and takes out his gun. He realizes from the conversation that it is Geffen in front of Katniss. He plans to aim the gun at Geffen and to restrain him, but when peaks over Geffen's shoulder standing behind him he sees what he has done to Katniss. He sees her tied up, bleeding, naked and her face looks unrecognizable. He loses all control and unlocks the safety and shots him, point blank in the head. He shoots him so close to Katniss that he sees Geffen's brains and blood splatter onto her.

He knows there will be consequences for what he has done, the mission from the beginning was to capture the Jay Killers and bring them to the Capitol to receive justice. They were never to shoot unless their lives or someone else's was in danger. While Katniss wasn't being harmed by Geffen at that exact moment, her life was in danger. He just hopes Panem's military will see it that way.

Gale and Spencer get in the hovercraft and head back to District 4's main base. Gale calls the President and informs her what happened, and what he did.

"You know we will have to conduct an investigation right?" the President says.

"Yes Ma'am."

"I know it is getting late, how about you and your team return the hovercraft tomorrow to the Capitol?"

Gale thanks the President and hangs up. He then showers and changes into new clothes, thankfully the main base had extra uniforms and he finds his size. He lets the group know what the plan is for the night and dismisses them, saying he will see them first thing at 8 am in the morning. As everyone turns to head to their assigned sleeping room, Abraham turns to Gale and says, "Commander, can I say something?"

Gale is taken off guard for Abraham hardly ever comes up to him to voice his opinion. He responds saying, "Of course."

"I usually keep my opinions to myself in front of my superiors, but, I never cared for Ms. Everdeen sir. I felt her actions concerning you were inappropriate. But, seeing what I just saw, how you reacted to seeing her pass out, made me realize-you really love her don't you?"

Gale sighs deeply, not wanting to admit to anyone let alone Abraham the truth. But he knows his actions and openly crying in front of them was going to show his true feelings.

"Yes" he responds with pain his voice. He knows what he has to do and it is killing him inside.

Abraham nods and says, "Well, I know things will be hard for you, I just want you to know-you have my support. If people talk, I will make sure to set them straight."

Gale forms a small smile and says, "Get some sleep, and thanks, it means a lot."

Gale goes outside and arranges for a taxi to pick him up and take him to the hospital. While he stands and waits for the taxi to come, he sees Spencer come up beside him.

"I know where you are going, I want to come too."

"Spencer-"Gale groans.

"Katniss is my friend too Commander, I'm coming. So either you can let me come, or you can write me up for insubordination."

Gale doesn't try to change his mind and allows him to come along. Once they both get to the hospital, they end up waiting for 5 hours, sitting in the waiting room. Katniss's Mother finally comes out to the waiting room and informs Gale and Spencer that the doctor gave Katniss a blood transfusion and managed to stop her internal bleeding. Mrs. Everdeen informs them that Katniss cannot have visitors until tomorrow evening.

Gale and Spencer decide to return back to the main base to get some sleep, for they have to be up in a few hours. Before Gale leaves the waiting room Mrs. Everdeen asks to speak to Gale alone. Spencer lets Gale know he will wait for him outside and will call for a taxi in the main entrance's lobby.

Once he is out of sight Mrs. Everdeen turns to Gale and says, "I want to thank you for helping Katniss. If I had lost her, I don't think I would be able to survive it. The thought of losing both of my daughters-"and she cannot finish for she begins to tear up.

Gale hugs her and asks, "She's going to be okay right?"

Mrs. Everdeen pulls back from his embrace and says, "Physically she will recover, but emotionally….it appears the men used, objects on her."

Gale feels sick inside. When he saw Katniss, he saw she was cut and bruised, but he also saw that her nipples were cut and bleeding, knowing they had done unspeakable things to her. It made him want to strangle the three men they captured in their holding cells with his bare hands.

"I killed the man responsible" Gale says blankly.

Mrs. Everdeen nods and says, "I know you love my daughter Gale, she loves you too though she might not admit it."

"She did admit it."

Mrs. Everdeen smiles sadly and says, "What will you do now?"

He doesn't answer her. He bends down and hugs her one last time and leaves. He can't admit out loud what his plans are, for he is unsure how he is going to handle the situation.

The next morning, Gale and his team return the hovercraft and turn Geffen's men over to the Capitol. Spencer asks Gale to call him once he gets an update on Katniss, Gale promising that he will.

When Gale goes to see the President, she informs him that she will be delaying his formal investigation until after Katniss recovers. She lets him know he has the next week off from both jobs.

Gale thanks her and asks one last favor before leaving.


Gale heads up the elevator to his apartment. It is lunch time and he hopes Dez will be home. When he walks in the living room, he is immediately greeted by Harper and he sees Dez sitting on the couch, looking at a magazine.

"How was your Father's party?" Gale asks. She doesn't move off the couch and continues browsing through her magazine. "Fine" she responds coldly.

"It wasn't a false alarm, we rescued Katniss right in time, if it had been even five minutes later; I don't think she would have made it."

"I'm glad to hear she's okay" Dez says still refusing to look at him.

"Dez-we need to talk."

She finally puts the magazine down and tosses it to the side of the couch. "To apologize for leaving me hanging while you went to save Katniss?"

"No, to apologize for what I'm about to do."

She gets a very concerned look on her face, she gets up off the couch and says, "What do you mean?"

"I love you, you are kind and funny and being with you made me feel good about myself. But I can't be with you anymore. I have to end it. You're right, I did put Katniss's needs before your own. I could have sent someone else, but I didn't, because I still love Katniss. I need her, and seeing her almost die today made me realize that."

She stares at him in shock, the color draining from her face. "You say you love me, but you also love her?"

"I do love you Dez, but not in the way I love Katniss. I never have. I'm sorry."

She slaps him hard across the face. She does it again three more times. She begins hitting him in the chest over and over. He stands there and lets her release her emotions on him. Finally she collapses and begins crying. He kneels down to her trying to comfort her. She pushes him away and says, "I can't believe you are breaking up with me" between her sobs.

He is crying now too and says, "I know what I have done is unforgivable. I'm sorry." And then he gets up and grabs Harper's leash and quickly walks out the door with the dog by his side.

When he arrives at his Mother's townhouse, she sees that he has been crying. He quickly hands Harper to her asking if she could take care of him for a week.

"I will give you money for his food, but I have to go now" and he turns around heading back down the steps.

"Gale-stop" his Mother says harshly. He knows that tone and even though he is 28, he turns around and faces his Mother waiting for her to speak.

"What happened? Why isn't Dez taking care of him? Did you two get into a fight?"

"Mom—"Gale pleads, not wanting to get into this with her now.

"Answer me" she says in an authoritative manner.

"Katniss was kidnapped and tortured by Geffen. They used objects to rape her and almost beat her to death. She activated the distress watch I gave her and my team rescued her. She almost died, and I realized at that moment, I can't be apart from her again, I need to be with her. I ended things with Dez."

Hazelle stares at him in shock, unable to form a response to what he has just said. He looks at her pleadingly and says, "Please don't lecture me, I know what I have done to Dez is unforgivable. But I had to make a choice, and I am choosing the only thing that will make me truly happy."

Hazelle nods at Gale and says, "Don't worry about paying me back, Harper is family to us too. Let me know how Katniss is."

"I will" he says and heads back down the stairs, his ride waiting for him to take him back to the hovercraft Paylor allowed him to use to get back to District 2 so quickly. The final stop in the hovercraft will be to District 4.


It is 7 pm when he arrives back at the hospital. When he first arrived in District 4, he went to a local hotel and reserved a room for the week. He then went shopping to buy some clothes and personal care items for he didn't get a chance to pack a bag while at his apartment.

He is escorted to Katniss's room and sees Mrs. Everdeen sitting with her, Katniss still asleep. Mrs. Everdeen informs Gale that she has not woken up since arriving to the hospital.

"I think she just needs a lot of rest" Mrs. Everdeen says to Gale, reassuring him.

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep, I will stay here with her until you get back."

"But didn't you reserve a hotel room?"

"I did, but I'd rather be here. I don't have to return to work for a week."

"Okay, but I will be back first thing in the morning." She leans in and kisses Katniss on the forehead before leaving.

He takes the chair Mrs. Everdeen was sitting on and pulls it right up beside Katniss's hospital bed. He takes her hand and holds it. She is laying on her stomach, her head off to the side. Her lower arms and wrists are wrapped in bandages, an IV inserted in her vein administering her morphling. Her face is still bruised and beaten, only her eyes are no longer swollen. Seeing her like this reassures him shooting Geffen in the head was justified, at least to him it was. Geffen almost took away from him the one person who would always matter, the one person he loves more than anything.

He sits with her in silence, continuing to hold her hand, not letting go. He dozes off and when he wakes he sees it is 11 pm. He sits up and continues to look at her, worried that she still has not woken up yet.

"I'm so sorry" he says and slowly, gently, and quietly leans in and kisses her, trying not to wake her.

He knows he should leave her be, he also knows it is too soon to be kissing another woman after breaking off his engagement to Dez not even 12 hours ago. 'But this is Katniss' he tells himself, 'She's not just some other woman.'

After he leans back up, he sees her eyes flutter open, she blinks a few times and focuses her eyes, looking at him.

"Gale" she says hoarsely.

"Hey Catnip" he says smiling.

"I can't believe you are still here with me."

He looks at her lovingly and says, "I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying right here with you."

She smiles, but he sees the discomfort on her face. It makes him want to kill Geffen all over again.

"Life is funny isn't it? Our roles are reversed-this reminds me of when I kissed you and told you I wasn't going anywhere" she says smiling again.

He smiles trying to hold back his sadness, he feels guilty for leaving Dez and being here, but he can't be anywhere else. He is finally ready to be with her.

"Get some sleep" he says to her. He can see she is still in a lot of pain.

"I'm afraid when I wake up you won't be here."

"I'll be here Catnip, like I said, I'm not going anywhere."

She smiles one last time before closing her eyes, the morphling overtaking her ability to stay awake.


When Katniss awakes the next morning, she sees her Mother beside her, and Gale sleeping in the other chair.

"Katniss" her Mother says eagerly.

"Hi Mom."

"How do you feel?"

"Sore mostly, my wrists are staring to itch though."

"That's good honey" Mrs. Everdeen says trying to hold back her tears.

Katniss is not used to seeing her mother show emotion like this, but it is not unwelcome. It allows her to show emotion as well.


Katniss is released from the hospital the next day. She is given morphling pills to take as needed and is given instruction she is to rest and keep her bandages on for ten days. Katniss becomes upset though and says she has to get back to her dorm for her teaching interviews.

"PES is aware of your situation, you are currently excused on a medical leave, you can go on your interviews when you get back." Gale tells her as he is wheeling her down the hall.

"But, I will be behind, my teaching assignment is supposed to start on April 1!"

"Katniss, PES will allow you to make up the time, it will be alright honey" Mrs. Everdeen chimes in.

Finally satisfied with knowing her plans for her future are not in jeopardy, Katniss leaves the hospital with Gale and her Mother and heads to her Mother's apartment. She will be staying with her Mother while she recovers.

Gale comes by each day to spend time with her. By the third day he notices she seems more herself and is able to move around better. She has to change her bandages each day, and he helps her. He continues to get upset each time he sees the bandages are bloody after removing them. He kisses her arms and wrists gently as he applies new ones on.

They have not kissed on the lips since that day in the hospital. While Katniss knows he is not leaving anytime soon, she is not quite sure what their relationship is at this point. After he applies her bandages she finally blurts out, "So what now? For you and me I mean."

He looks at her, surprised she is asking this now. He knows eventually they will have to talk about it.

"Well, based upon your letter and what you said to me on the boat, I take it you want to be with me?"

"Yes" she says in a tone that suggests that was a stupid question.

"What about Peeta?"

Katniss huffs and says, "Look, I want to go to District 12 and get my stuff after my teaching assignment is finalized. I plan to tell him then."

"Okay" Gale says, satisfied by that answer.

"What about Dez?" Katniss shoots back.

"I broke off my engagement, I haven't been back to my apartment so I don't even know if she is still there. Harper is at my Mom's."

"So it is finished then? She let you go?"

"She didn't get a choice" he says flatly.

"Okay" she says, clearly satisfied with that answer.

"I want us to be together, but I want to make something very clear first. I am not leaving District 2, if you want to be with me, you will have to consider being here long term."

She nods at his words and understands why he would be demanding this of her. He has a good job, a job that doesn't come by too often.

"I don't know where my teaching assignment will be yet."

"That's fine, if we have a long distance relationship I am okay with that. Besides, I think it is best if we lay low in District 2 anyway. At least until the scandal of what I have done dies down."

Katniss knows a lot of people will talk when word gets out that he dumped his fiancé for another woman. And for the mockingjay of all people.

"I'll miss you when we are not together."

He smiles at her and says, "Me too."

The next day he invites her back to his hotel room after they go out for lunch. She has not been outside since she was on her date with Magnus. She's excited yet anxious not entirely sure why he wants to take her back to his room.

When she arrives with him, she comes to find out the reason he brought her there was to talk to her about what happened with Geffen.

"Gale-I don't want to talk about it" she says harshly.

"Katniss-"

"I mean it Gale, just please, don't ask me again."

"Alright" he says throwing his arms up. "But I'm here if you need me."

"I know you are" she says and reaches up to hug him. She feels his arms wrap around her, holding her tight.

She looks at him with desire, stroking his face. He knows her look shows she wants something from him, alone in this room.

He guides her to the bed, sitting her down. He places his hands on her neck and says, "Are you sure? You're injured. And I don't have any protection to wear, I wasn't exactly planning this".

"It's okay, I have the birth control implant, the hospital replaced it for me before I was discharged. And-just let me be on top okay?"

"Okay, if anything hurts, tell me immediately."

"Okay" she says and leans in to try and kiss him, but he pulls away quickly and gets up to shut the blinds in the window and switches the do not disturb button on the door to ensure no one tries to come in.

Katniss begins taking off her pants and underwear, but leaves her shirt on. He sees her remove her bra from underneath her shirt and lets it fall to the floor. He knows why she won't remove it.

She comes over to him on the bed and begins to undress him, when all of his clothes are off she looks at him, all of him. He sees the desire in her face.

He lays down on the bed and she climbs on top, he lets her decide what she wants to do. She reaches down below and begins stroking him, watching his face with continued desire. He hardens quickly at her touch, once fully erect she positions herself on top of him and begins moving up and down. She touches his chest, he in turn raises his arms and reaches up under her shirt, trying to feel her. While touching her underneath, he feels the bandages on her breasts, covering her nipples. He realizes he should probably move his hands away, for he doesn't want to cause her any pain.

When he removes his hands from under her shirt, she grabs them and guides them back, nodding to him that it is okay to keep going. While she continues to glide up and down he softly touches her, then passion takes over and he grabs them more forcefully and without thinking, squeezes them. She whimpers out in pain and he abruptly stops and leans up, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her towards him. His apologizes with his eyes for hurting her. She looks back at him and wraps her arms around his shoulders, holding on as he begins rocking them back and forth as they sit up. He leans in to her lips but does not kiss her, instead brushing right by her mouth and breathing into her ear. He buries his head on her shoulder as he continues to thrust in and out, he is not able to look at her for if he does, he will lose control. He hears her begin panting more heavily in his ear and she brings his face up to look at her in the eyes. She desperately wants him to kiss her, but something about looking at him like this makes her feel what they are doing is more intimate than kissing. They look at each other with pain, happiness, and uncontrollable desire all rolled into one. She knows the last thing she should be doing is having sex, but this was more than that. This was about finally being able to show him her love. He continues to stare intently into her eyes, almost causing her to blush his look is so carnal. He shifts and raises himself up higher and looks down on her, placing his hands on her shoulders, he picks up the pace and she knows he is beginning to orgasm from the change in his breathing, she watches him as he climaxes and grips her shoulders hard. When he pulls out she sees his semen drip onto her thighs.

Once his breathing is more stable, he looks down at her with the same look showing his apology. She responds with a look in her eyes telling him it is okay. He rests his hand on her cheek and leans down, embracing her. She hugs him back, but is still disappointed he has not kissed her, even after he finished. 'Maybe he doesn't kiss in the bedroom' she begins to think to herself.

He then pulls away and gets up and goes into the bathroom. She sits on the bed, not sure what to do next when she sees him come out with a washcloth and bends down and cleans up the sticky mess he left on her. Once he finishes, he puts the washcloth back in the bathroom and comes back to the bed, pulling her down with him. She lays on top of him for a few minutes while he strokes her hair. It is longer now, going down past her shoulders, she still kept her bangs and he pushes them out of the way as he leans in and kisses her on the forehead.

"I'm sorry that was so short" he says softly.

She smiles at him and says, "It's okay, there's always next time right?"

"Mmmhmm" he says gazing into her eyes, looking very content. They lay for a while, arms wrapped around each other lovingly.

"Can I ask you something?" she says after their long moment of silence.

"Anything."

"How come you haven't kissed me?"

His face grows serious, she wonders for a second if she has upset him but he responds by saying, "I'm afraid if I begin kissing you, I won't be able to control myself and I'll hurt you."

"You won't hurt me" she says and she reaches up, forcing her lips on his. He doesn't kiss her back and she stops and sits up, looking at him in shock. He shifts his body out from under her and sits up, facing her. She is about to say something in retaliation from his rebuff when all of the sudden his mouth is on hers, his tongue devouring her. He kisses her so hard she begins to have trouble breathing. She breaks away for a second to catch her breath and opens up her mouth again letting his lips come back to her, kissing him even more deeply this time. She becomes aroused again and quickly takes off her shirt, no longer wanting any clothing in the way. He looks at her chest and sees the bruises and bandages covering her breasts. He bends down and begins softly kissing each bruise and cut. She can feel her nipples harden under the bandages, while it is still sore she wants him to continue kissing her, becoming extremely wet. Even under the bandages he can see the tips of her nipples start to poke out, he immediately shifts her to the edge of the bed and puts her legs on his shoulders as he kneels down in front of her and begins to go down on her. He hears her begin to moan, for she was completely silent the first time. He holds onto her waist tighter as his tongue continues to taste her. "Gale" he hears her say in a trembling voice, he knows she is beginning to orgasm. He finishes tasting her and then leans up and begins to stroke her clit, working her to release. She grabs onto him as her body trembles, continuing to moan softly. Once she is finished he kisses her before getting up. She sits on the edge of the bed as she watches him go into the bathroom to clean up. When he comes back out, he sits down beside her and turns her face toward him and says, "Words cannot describe how much I love you."

She begins to cry, moved by his, words, the realization of what has happened to her finally sinking in. He scoops her up and places her under the covers with him, letting her cry on his shoulder while she gets her emotions out.

A/N: Only took 56 chapters to get to this point!