DISCLAIMER: HG characters do not belong to me.

Words not spoken in English will be italicized.

A/N: So, what happened in the last chapter might seem OOC. To be honest I was struggling writing the chapter but the main purpose was to wrap up the Marlon storyline. I also had in my head that I wanted a scene where Gale was possessive of Katniss. I've heard some Everlark supporters say they felt his character was at times too possessive of Katniss and I think in some ways that was true, but the same for her as well. I look at that dialouge as part of the whole "I am his, he's mine" line of Catching Fire. And yes, there will be more Katniss/Haymitch/Peeta interaction as well the impending Dez/Katniss convo!

There may be an update tomorrow, if I have time. If not, next update probably will not occur until Friday or Saturday night.

Chapter 78-Departure

Katniss is told by Gale while in route to the tribe that Jasper, the presumed leader of the Jay Killers has not been found and neither has her map or journal. Katniss tells Gale she assumes both things were given to Jasper for which he agrees.

When they arrive a couple of miles from the Sioux village, Katniss is informed she will be transported in a motorbike. She looks at the bike as it floats off the ground, she is told Spencer will be the driver. Gale explains to her that he had never been trained on how to properly use the motorbike but that Spencer had. While skeptical of how safe it is she was relieved she would not have to walk two miles, for there was no way she could do it on her injured leg.

Gale and the rest of the team plan to head out on foot after Katniss and Spencer leave. While approaching the motorbike to get behind Spencer, Gale sees Katniss's uneasiness and whispers, "You'll be fine. You trust Spencer right?"

"Of course I do, I just don't know how I am going to hang on."

"We were planning to strap the two of you together actually."

Katniss gives Gale a look that says, 'for real?' but he reassures her that it will be alright. Once she is strapped in she sees that it just might be secure after all.

She gives Gale one last uneasy look, he mouths "you'll be okay" to her and she smiles, reminded of how he used to do that during the reaping. The motorbike then takes off at full speed. She is shocked by how quickly the bike accelerates in a couple of seconds. She squeezes her eyes shut as they move through the trees, Spencer swerving the bike around to avoid running into the trees. Eventually though she opens her eyes and looks around her, the trees darting by. She leans over and sees Spencer reading a dial that showed the coordinates, navigating him along. She continues to hold onto him with her good arm as they ride along.

They arrive a few feet from the village and Spencer ties the bike to a tree with the cord that was used to strap them together. He grabs his gun and walks with Katniss towards the village's field.

She approaches first and before she can even call out that it was her, she hears someone shout, "Killing Bird is here."

She looks up, and sees one of the tribesmen in the trees. All of the sudden she sees Hawk in front of her saying, "You are hurt."

"Yes" she responds nodding her head.

"Who is the man with you?" Hawk says pointing in Spencer's direction. She is not surprised that they had seen him before she approached.

"He's a warrior, he's with me."

"We heard a noise approach."

Katniss explains to him that the noise they heard was the bike, but she struggled with what words to use. Eventually Hawk understands what she is trying to say and escorts her and Spencer to the village.

When Katniss arrives at the village, she is greeted by all of the tribe members. It has been a little over a year since she was last with them and she is informed of the tribe member that passed on, along with a couple of babies that were born.

"Have you come back for good?" Morning Sun asks with hope in her eyes.

"No. I have come for other reasons, important reasons."

Katniss asks if she can speak with Strong Wind in private, he takes Katniss into his tent, just the two of them.

She takes a deep breath and quickly brainstorms which words to use before beginning. She tells him how she got injured and what she has learned about the Jay Killers and how they are in the area. She finally tells Strong Wind about the possibility of their tribe being found and she urges him to consider moving the tribe to another location.

"This group, you are a threat to them?" he asks looking at Katniss in a stern manner.

"Not just me, the leader of Panem as well."

"This village is our home, we have been here for hundreds of years."

"I know, but it is not safe here anymore. Not until I know the Jay Killers are truly gone."

She watches as he inhales deeply and says, "More will come won't they?"

"If the Jay Killers stay here yes."

She sees the look of disappointment on his face, she knows he had hoped that life can remain as it always has for them. But she realizes he fully understands that Panem has changed and that people can come and go into the wild territory as they wish.

"We will go to the Cheyenne tribe until we figure out where we want to be permanently."

Katniss breathes a sigh of relief, but also becomes concerned because she realizes she may never be able to find them again.

He tells her they will leave first thing at dawn. Katniss then explains that more soldiers were coming and that they should arrive at any moment.

Sure enough, Gale and the rest of the team arrive twenty minutes later. The tribe asks Katniss to send Spencer out to help escort them into the village with Hawk the other tribesmen.

When they arrive, Katniss informs Gale of what the tribe plans to do. He has Katniss explain to the tribe that his team will watch guard for the night, being extra cautious in case the Jay Killers show up.

Gale and his team leave Katniss to let her spend time with the tribe for the rest of the day. His team graciously accepts food from the tribe but eats away from them, setting up camp by the tree edge where the field ends and the forest begins.

Once she is ready to go to bed, she is provided a small tepee. She walks over to the soldier's tents and asks to speak to Gale alone.

"So, everyone will need to be ready before dawn tomorrow" she says to him.

"Right. I'll make sure everyone is ready."

"I was-given my own tepee to use tonight. Will you spend the night with me?"

She looks at him as he thinks over her proposal. Finally he responds by saying, "I'll come after everyone goes to bed."

She smiles and explains to him where her tepee is. She quickly heads back and goes into her tepee and lays down, waiting for him to come, staring up at her dreamcatcher hanging above her.

She dozes off and is awakened by the sound of the flap of her tepee opening. She jolts up and sees Gale enter and close the flap, looking at her silently.

She looks at him without saying a word and he glances up at her dreamcatcher before sitting down on the ground beside her. She gently reaches for him and he pulls her into his lap, positioning her so that she is sitting sideways, her good arm closer to his body and she wraps her arm around his waist, pulling him closer.

Without hesitating for a second his lips are immediately on hers, inserting his tongue into her mouth. She passionately kisses him back, longing for his hands on her body. She gasps in pleasure as he reaches under her shirt, grabbing her breasts and stroking them, the material of her bra brushing along his fingers.

They continue kissing for a few more moments, until finally Gale breaks off the kiss and says, "I guess we are on better terms now?" grinning at her with a boyish look on his face.

She smiles and nods in response, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. He helps her out of her clothes until she is only in her bra and underwear, and helps her get her nightshirt on that he brought for her from the hovercraft. He strokes her face gently before laying her down on her side, helping her get under the animal skin blanket she was given. He strips off his clothes as well, leaving only his boxers on. He climbs in beside her and wraps the blanket around her, holding her tight while they lay on their sides.

He tells her he loves her before they drift off to sleep. He awakens a couple hours before dawn, wanting to sneak out of her tent before anyone sees him. He is still trying to be as professional as he can, though he knows all the soldiers know about the two of them. But since he is on shaky ground with the military, he doesn't want to run the risk of any of the soldiers saying he is acting unprofessional.

He is laying on his back and he leans over and sees Katniss sleeping soundly on her side. He sits up and gently nudges her awake and says, "Katniss, I have to go. People will be waking up pretty soon."

She slowly opens her eyes and looks at him lovingly and says, "Can you stay? Just a few more minutes?"

"Just a few, then I really do have to leave."

She grabs his arm and pulls him down towards her, kissing him. His lips move from her mouth to her neck and she whispers into his ear, "We have a few minutes, to-you know" and she moves her hand down and touches his hardened erection, feeling it rubbing against her.

He grunts in response and quickly reaches under her nightshirt, pulling her underwear off. He turns her so that she is laying on her back and she raises her knees up, her feet on the ground. She spreads her legs for him, letting him know she is ready. He looks down at her as he is on his knees, his tall frame towering above her. He pulls his boxers off and leans over her, his hands on the ground so that his weight is not her.

She raises her head up to kiss him briefly as he begins moving inside her, his back almost arching up as his hands are firmly planted by her shoulders, looking down at her. They look at each other as they continue having sex, at one point he touches her face as it becomes flushed, and she kisses his fingers in response.

When they are finished, he bends down and gives her a quick kiss before pulling out of her and rolling off to the side. After a few minutes of letting his breathing return to normal, he gets up and gets dressed then helps her get dressed. He gives her one last kiss and just as he entered, he silently leaves her tent without saying a word.

She lays back down and stares up at her dreamcatcher, feeling spent.


Once the tribe is ready, they inform Katniss they will be walking to the river. In order to save time, some of the older and younger tribe members will be traveling by boat, the rest on foot and by horse.

Before Morning Sun gets in the boat she turns to Katniss and says, "Come with us-please."

Katniss looks at her sadly and says, "I belong in Panem, you know I do."

"Make sure you talk to Strong Wind before he leaves."

Katniss nods in response and gives Morning Sun a final hug. She quickly goes and finds Strong Wind getting ready to walk over to his boat. She tells him that Morning Sun told her to come see him and he says, "In a couple of months, go to the Cheyenne tribe, and say you need to speak to Sachem. He will give you a map to where we are."

"Will the Cheyenne tribe remember me?"

Strong Wind chuckles as he says, "They will remember you, but I will make sure to tell them what you look like to be sure. Will you still have-that on your arm?" as he points to her cast.

"No, it should be off by then."

He nods and says, "Remember, don't go for a couple of months. It might take us that long to find a new village."

"I will."

Katniss watches as Morning Sun and the rest of the tribe traveling by boat leave, the morning fog on the water hiding them from sight as the boats head down the river. She then says her goodbyes to Red Bear, Hawk, and White Wolf as they take off on their horses, leaving no trance of their former village behind.

The team sets up hidden cameras in the trees to monitor any activity in the area. Katniss stays behind with Spencer and a few others as Gale and the rest of the team walk back to the hovercraft, picking them up along with the motorbike before leaving.

They head back to the Capitol, Katniss eager to hear what the current status was on the search for the Jay Killers.

She also knows she will most likely see Peeta and Haymitch when she gets there, contemplating in her mind what she is going to say to them when she sees them.