DISCLAIMER: HG Characters do not belong to me.

A/N: I wanted to comment on the review I read that said it seemed that I preferred Gale with Dez as opposed to Katniss. Absolutely not! This is still a Galeniss story, and that will never change. I think it would be natural for him to miss Dez at times, and while I was surprised to see reviewers like Dez, I'm glad to see it because it gives me more confidence in my storytelling. But this story is 100% Gale and Katniss. They are just going through a bump in the road right now.

Chapter 74-Uncertain

Gale feels the cold air hit him as he exits Katniss's tent. He is still in his sleeveless shirt, carrying his clothes and boots in his hands. While it is a lot warmer in the wild territory than it was the last time he was here, it still got pretty chilly at night. He quickly walks to his tent, once inside he throws his clothes and boots on the ground in frustration.

He wanted to spend the night with her, but his disappointment in her still stirs inside him, along with the lingering thoughts in his mind of his conversation with Peeta.

Peeta. The single person who has been the biggest obstacle in his relationship with her. In the past and now in the present. He thought he was finally rid of his jealousy concerning Peeta's relationship with Katniss, but his conversation with him made him realize Peeta still had an effect on Katniss he could never compete with.

His thoughts turn to the next day after his encounter with Haymitch, another day of coming back with no sign of Katniss. When he returns to the Capitol, not only does he see Haymitch, but Peeta as well. Both of them waiting for Gale once he exits the hovercraft.

"Haymitch, Peeta" Gale says as both men approach him.

"Hawthorne" Haymtich says slightly nodding.

"Hello Gale" Peeta says warmly and extends his hand for Gale to shake.

Gale shakes Peeta's hand, not surprised by Peeta's friendliness. He wishes he could hate him, but he can't, he never could.

"Still no sign of her eh?" Haymitch says.

"No. The President is ordering tracking locators tomorrow, several will be sent out."

"And she's not with the tribe?" Peeta asks.

"We saw no sign of her on the images that came back from the remote camera."

"Told you she wasn't going there" Haymitch says accusingly.

"Haymitch-easy" Peeta says laying a gentle hand on Haymitch's shoulder. "Gale is just as concerned about Katniss as we are" he says turning to look at Gale.

"We need to talk to you Hawthorne-alone" Haymitch says as he eyes the soldiers from the hovercraft come up to Gale.

"Everything okay here?" one soldier asks, easily sensing the tension between Gale and Haymitch.

"Fine, everything's fine" Gale says giving Haymitch a look.

The soldier looks at Gale before walking away, Gale turns and gives a nod with his head letting the soldier know it was okay. The soldier then gives Haymitch a final look before moving on.

"Haymitch, I want to talk to Gale first, if that is okay" Peeta asks looking to Haymitch.

Haymitch looks at Gale and says, "Fine, I'll be waiting in the hotel lobby-at the bar." And they watch as Haymitch walks off, not looking back.

"There's a small coffee shop we can go to around the corner" Gale says beginning to walk in the direction of where the café is located, Peeta trailing behind.

They walk in silence, taking a seat near the back after both grab a beverage.

Once seated, Peeta looks down at his cup as he says, "Thanks for agreeing to talk to us."

"I know you are worried about her" Gale says.

"You are too."

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Gale says getting right down to business.

"I want to know what is going on with Katniss, the letter she sent me-wasn't her. Something happened, I want to know what it is."

"I told Haymitch she has been going through a hard time."

"Yeah, he told me, but why? You two are together now, I would have thought she'd be taken care of."

Gale becomes annoyed at Peeta's comment, wanting to just get up and leave.

"You know Katniss doesn't need to be taken care of" he says stressing the importance of the word.

"You're right, I just meant, you love her, and she loves you. I am just shocked that this has happened."

"I don't think she loves me the way she loves you" Gale says, unable to look Peeta in the eye as he says it.

"I have been jealous of you for as long as I could remember" Peeta says staring at Gale to the point Gale was becoming uncomfortable. He slowly raises his eyes to meet Peeta's.

"She choose you, you two were together for years."

"But she left me, walked out on everything we built in District 12. I knew in my heart of hearts, that if the two of you became close again, I would lose her. And I did."

"It's because of you she was never with me" Gale hisses, finally losing his cool.

"You never told her how you felt."

"How was I supposed to predict her sister would get reaped? Prim's name out of hundreds. And how was I supposed to know you had a secret crush on her? She never mentioned you-ever."

"Katniss will always love me, we have a bond that only a select few can understand."

"Trust me I saw it."

"Why is Katniss depressed? Because the Katniss I read in the letter was the Katniss I saw in District 12."

Gale finally gives in and tells Peeta everything, about her abduction, about the morphling pills, and about River.

Peeta is completely silent when Gale finishes. Looking deep in thought.

"Katniss wanted the two of you to have a baby?" Peeta asks, his voice almost cracking.

"I talked her into waiting at least a year."

"Do you know how many times I asked her if we could start a family?"

"Her emotions were all over the place when she asked me, she became attached to River and was devastated to lose him. She wasn't thinking clearly."

"I have been trying to come to terms with the two of you being together, but if you get her pregnant after only being with her for a fraction of the time we were together-"

"I have every right to give her what she wants" Gale says interrupting Peeta.

"It's why I will always be jealous of you, that fact that she even voiced a desire to have children, I could never get her to admit that."

"Until Katniss gets off the morphling pills, nothing will be happening" Gale says in disgust.

"Did you know Katniss was addicted to morphling pills before?"

"No" Gale says in alarm.

"Yeah-back in the Capitol after Prim died and she was recovering from her burns."

Gale tries not to show emotion, having no idea this had been a problem before. They told each other everything, at least they used to. He begins to wonder what else she has kept from him.

"How did she get off of them?" Gale asks. He knows Peeta knows the answer.

"She started singing again."

Gale racks his brain trying to remember the last time he heard Katniss sing. It had been ages, he thinks the last time he heard her sing was when he watched her in the arena.

"I didn't know."

"She doesn't sing for you?" Peeta asks, genuinely curious.

"She sang for you?" Gale questions back.

"Yeah, she would sing while we worked on the book with Haymitch."

Gale begins to lose even more confidence, realizing Katniss exhibited certain behaviors with Peeta and Haymitch that she never exhibited with him.

"I guess that's one of the things that was special between the two of you" Gale says dryly.

"What are you going to do in order to help her get over what Geffen did to her?"

"I honestly don't know what to do. Can you see Katniss going to see a therapist?"

Peeta smiles and says, "No way. Katniss open up to a complete stranger? Never going to happen."

"Exactly, so what can I do?"

"Is she writing in her book?"

"The memorial book?

"No, her book of kind acts."

"What?"

Peeta looks at Gale in disbelief. "You don't know about her book of kind acts? You never saw her writing in it?"

Gale becomes defensive and says, "We live in different Districts! The most time we have spent together is a week if that. If I saw her writing in a book, I assumed it was for class."

"Katniss created a book in District 12. She wrote down every kind act she ever saw someone do. It helped-ease her pain and anxiety, especially when she had nightmares. She's memorized every line of it and repeats it in her head."

Gale begins to feel insecure, he wonders why she would never share this with him. "She has never mentioned this book, I have no idea if she still writes in it."

Peeta nods his head slowly and says, "Maybe she only felt the need to use it in District 12."

"So she doesn't use it here because it is something that reminds her of you, and what she misses" Gale says sarcastically.

"You're jealous" Peeta says calmly.

"Of course I am! I always felt I knew Katniss better than you ever could, but I am finding out things about her life with you in 12 I had no idea about."

"You don't spend seven years with someone and not share something special. You have a relationship with her I can never compete with-you two are two halves of the same whole. Don't think I don't know she chose me only because she was angry at you."

"I told you before, the way she kissed you in the quarter quell; she never kissed me like that."

"That was one kiss Gale. It was an-emotional time for us. And if you remember, she was so touched by the locket I gave her that she ended up kissing me like that. The locket that had your picture in it."

"It was all about you when we got to District 13. She was obsessed with getting you back. She didn't even noticed I existed."

"To relieve her guilt about us splitting up and me being captured. Katniss has always had this-need to protect me. We protected each other but, she needed to make sure I was okay. And fast forward all these years later, she knows I am okay. That's why she let me go and followed her heart, back to you."

"And yet she still ends up leaving."

"She loves you."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore."

"She left to get help. I won't lie, I want her back. You said she would pick the one she can't live without. I guess when she comes back and decides which one of us she wants to be with, we'll finally have our answer."

"What makes you think she wants to return to District 12, to you?" Gale says, trying to push the possibility of Katniss going back to Peeta from his mind.

Peeta shrugs and says, "She talked a lot in her letter about how she misses what we shared and that she wishes she could have it back, and how guilty she feels for leaving."

"Well, we will see what she does. I have made it clear to her I won't leave District 2."

"I'm staying here until I talk to her."

"Suit yourself, I think we are done here" and Gale gets up to leave and walks out, Peeta again lingering behind.

While walking back to the hotel Peeta and Haymitch are staying at, Gale's mind is racing with thoughts of Katniss leaving him to go back to District 12. He thinks about the intimate moments they have spent together, the look of desire on her face while they had sex. He thought her looks were an indication of her love for him, but now he can't help but wonder if the looks on her face were the result of the sex itself. That what they shared was just sex to her, nothing more. Especially since she had admitted to him that Peeta never pleasured her the way he had.

He can't help but think once Katniss is done having fun in the bedroom with him and obtains her teaching certificate she will go running back to 12, become a teacher there, go back to her home in the Victor's Village, and back into Peeta's bed. And that she will forget about him and his family yet again. A month ago he never would have thought such a thing, but now….

When they get to the hotel lobby, things do not get any better for him. For he then has to deal with more of Haymitch's wrath.

Peeta informs Haymitch that he will be heading up to his room, leaving Gale alone with him.

"I need to get going Haymitch" Gale says trying to escape as quickly as he can.

"Hold on Hawthorne, you took time out of your busy search and rescue schedule to talk to Peeta, now you will make time for me."

"Why? So you can continue to make me feel guilty-blame me for Katniss leaving."

"Well, I do blame you for her leaving. She belongs back with us in 12, not in the Capitol and District 2 being Ceasar's flavor of the week. I've read the gossip articles about the two of you. The sex may be hot now Hawthorne, but she'll get bored of it. And eventually she will get tired of her privacy being invaded. You know as long as she stays close to the Capitol it will keep happening, Ceasar has always had-an unusual obsession with her. He must still be entranced with the whole-girl on fire thing."

Gale wants to punch Haymitch, but he is in a public place and he cannot risk giving the military even more leverage to extend his suspension.

"I can't believe you fall for believing everything you read" Gale says instead, hoping to get under Haymitch's skin.

"I know some of it is hyped up for the public, but I also know about your-effect on women. I have been around the Capitol long enough to hear a thing or two."

"This can't be what you wanted to talk to me about. So let's just get to the point shall we?"

"The Jay Killers are still out there" Haymitch says, the tone of his voice changing.

"Yes."

"The President, the military, all of Panem needs to work together to stop them."

"We don't know where they are right now. They still have a small group in District 1, but I am pretty sure they are in the wild territory somewhere."

"I want in. I want to be a part of the fight."

"Did you ask the President?"

"I did-but she won't give me a final answer. I was hoping-you could talk to her for me."

Gale laughs in disbelief and says, "For real? You want me to talk to her on your behalf?"

"Yes, she respects you-a lot."

"You are not a solider."

"Doesn't mean I can't help, I could always-try to convince one of these Jay Killer bastards to have a drink with me. You know the saying, once the alcohol goes in, the truth comes out. I could try to get information out of some of them."

"Okay. But she might not listen to me, I'm no longer a soldier."

"WHAT?" Haymitch says aloud in surprise.

"Haven't you noticed I am not wearing a uniform?"

"I just assumed you changed clothes. What happened that you are no longer a soldier?"

Gale fills him on what happened with Katniss and Geffen, not holding anything back.

Haymitch gets a look of anger and disgust on his face and says, "Damn-no wonder the girl ran away. I always knew you loved her, the fact that you killed him without hesitation-"

"I have no regrets about what I did" Gale says sternly.

"Well, the military was stupid to suspend you like that. No wonder they can't find these guys."

"I will talk to the President the next time I see her. Now I really have to get going."

"Sure. Look Hawthorne, for what it's worth, I'm sorry that you were suspended. You did what needed to be done. You saved Katniss."

"Thanks" Gale says nodding to Haymitch.

"And thanks for agreeing to talk to the President for me."

"No problem."

His thoughts return to the present, realizing he still needs to talk to the President about Haymitch's request. He was so preoccupied with Katniss being found it had slipped his mind. He makes a mental note to ask her once they return to the Capitol.

He lays out his sleeping bag, getting into it wearing only the sleeveless shirt and his boxers. He stares up at the top of his tent, his mind still racing when he hears the zipper to his tent open.

He quickly sits up, immediately becoming alert though he knows it cannot be a Jay Killer unzipping his tent, for he had set up the motion sensors around the perimeter of their camp.

He sees Katniss slowly enter his tent, zipping the tent back up once she is inside. She stands inside his tent and says, "I can't sleep. Can I stay-please?"

He leans back down and opens up his sleeping bag, silently letting her know she is to get inside.

She places the bag given to her by the Capitol on the floor and takes off her shoes and begins changing into a long shirt. He watches as she moves slowly, trying to do simple activities such as changing with her cast on.

She hangs her dreamcatcher at the top of the tent and then climbs into the sleeping bag, Gale zipping the sleeping bag up once she is inside.

She lays down on her side, he wraps his arm around her and pulls her close, spooning her. He hears her inhale deeply, grabbing his hand with her free hand while she lays her injured arm gently in front of her.

They sit in silence for a few moments before Gale says, "Do you love me?"

She turns her head to look up at him, her eyes wide. "Of course I do, why would you ask me that?"

"Then why would you tell Peeta you miss what the two of you had and wish you could have it back?"

She exhales a heavy sigh and says, "As much as District 12 depressed me, I did love him. It is a crime to sometimes miss him, miss what we had?"

"You are with me now."

"Yes, but it has been hard Gale. District 12 was familiar, District 2 and District 9 are so-unfamiliar. When I wrote that letter to Peeta, I was feeling a bit of homesickness. And I still feel guilty for abandoning him and Haymitch. But, I want to be with you. My love for you never changed. The reason I left was because I know I need to be a better girlfriend. You deserved so much more than what I was giving you."

"All I want is for us to be together. But how do I know you won't decide to leave someday? That what happened with Peeta won't happen to me?"

"Because as much as I loved Peeta, I never experienced the type of passion with him that I have with you. I love him, but I am in love with you. You make me feel-alive. I told you before I need your fire. I need you by my side to fight the Jay Killers, I can't do it without my best friend, and the person I love." She was not one to speak much about her feelings, but she knows she needs to. To let him know she's not going anywhere, not anymore.

"Don't ever do what you did again, don't ever go away without saying goodbye, without talking to me first. I began to question us, I began to think you were going to go back to him. That you were just with me to see what it was like being with someone else."

"Are you still mad?"

"I still think we have a lot of issues to work out."

"I know."

"But-I will never stop loving you. You know that."

She raises her head up and kisses him softly. "I missed you" she whispers when she breaks the kiss.

He reaches down under her shirt and removes her underwear, he knows it is late and that they need to try to sleep, but his emotions take control-yet again. When his hand moves down to touch her he feels she is aroused. He begins stroking her. After a few moments she says, "Gale" desire evident in her voice.

He knows he can't deny her request, for he wants it too. He reaches down and pulls his boxers down, kicking them down to the bottom of the sleeping bag. He enters her while they continue to lay on their side, moving in and out of her slowly. She leans back into him, her head facing the floor, trying to stifle her moans, for his tent is not very far from the others. He places his hand on her thigh, trying his best not to touch her cast. He is leaning up slightly with his other arm, positioning himself further while he continues to thrust, beginning to move his hand up and down her thigh.

She nudges him with her head, gently butting up against his upper chest, signaling what she wants him to do to her. He knows it drives her over the edge to have her clit stimulated at the same time, he reaches down between her legs, giving into her desires.

She begins panting heavily, starting to orgasm. She bites her lip and almost suffocates burying her face into the sleeping bag. He buries his face into her shoulder as he comes inside her. He softly kisses her neck as she lifts her head back up and pants, her heartbeat slowing down and returning to normal breathing.

He helps pull her underwear back on and he gets back into his boxers, zipping the sleeping bag up as they settle into a sleeping position. Before sleep overcomes him he hears her say, "Next time I want you to tell me what you want, it's not fair, you always pleasuring me."

He chuckles and says, "Get some sleep. We will have plenty of time for that later. Besides, we need to wait for your arm to heal."

She turns her head and looks at him playfully, raising her eyebrows at his statement that what he wants involves the use of both of her arms. He kisses her forehead and she lays her head back down, sleep finally overtaking her.


Gale awakens to Hance's voice outside his tent. "Commander, commander it is time to get up."

He quickly opens his eyes, realizing he has overslept. He feels Katniss start to stir as he calls out, "I'm awake, thank you Hance" and he hears her walk away from the tent.

He quietly wakes Katniss up and motions for her to be quiet as they get out of the sleeping bag. He exits the tent first as she gets dressed. He sees most of the soldiers are up, some still coming out of their tents, trying to wake up.

Spencer comes up to Gale and says, "Should I go and see if Katniss is awake?"

"No. I will handle it thank you Spencer."

"I didn't hear any movement in there when I walked by."

Gale gives Spencer a look and turns his head to his tent, letting him know Katniss is in there. Spencer figures out Gale's hint and smiles, walking over to the team and calling the group over to the hovercraft to pass out their breakfast bars before they head out. Gale quickly eating his.

He grabs a protein bar for Katniss and takes it into his tent while the team eats by the hovercraft. She is dressed and ready to go when he hands it to her.

"Thank you" she says sweetly, beginning to devour the bar.

"I figured you could stay here with Penny and the other pilots and help take down the tents while we are gone."

"No way. I am coming with you."

"Katniss…." Gale says with a look of concern.

"Gale-I am going with you. Besides, Marlon is not going to trust any of you unless I am there. Just-give me a gun or something to shoot with."

"You said yourself you are a terrible shooter when it comes to a gun!"

"I think I'll be okay if I am in close enough range."

"Stick close to me. And don't go running off if you see him!"

She kisses him in response, then finishes her bar. She grabs her bag as she exits his tent.

When she walks out, she sees the team getting their guns ready, most not noticing that she exited Gale's tent. However, she sees Abraham eyeing her, not surprised to see him staring her down.

Gale leads the way with Abraham while the team begins the hike, Katniss in the back with Spencer. She begins thinking about Marlon, hoping that he is alive, and that they take the Jay Killers by surprise. Sending a message that she will not be intimidated and is ready to fight back, with Gale and Panem's army by her side.