Second Chances

by Peetabreaddd

FULLY UPDATED! What happens when Katniss can't live without Peeta anymore after they won the war? Feeling lonely, Katniss does something tragic to make it all stop, but is given a second chance to make everything right. STORY HAS BEEN COMPLETELY REDONE

18. Chapter 18

You could hear a pin drop in that room. No one could utter a word. Peeta was trying to wrap his head around what Coin just said. She wanted them to get married?

Johanna suddenly broke the tension by laughing. Everyone was still in shock. He watched Plutarch visibly cringe. So, this wasn't his idea. This was Coin's idea.

He looked over at Katniss. She stared blankly in front of her, which worried him. She needed to be back in their compartment, resting.

"No one in this room, besides you, wants them to get married in 13. Or anywhere right now. They're not ready. And there are even a million reasons why we don't want them to get married, and not get married here," Johanna told her. Oh, he could only imagine where this was going.

"I wanna make her wedding dress," Cinna said. That surprised Peeta.

"Oh, I want to make his tux," Portia said excitedly. Effie started getting excided from Portia and clapped her hands.

"I want to plan the entire thing," Effie said. Were they seriously talking about Katniss and his wedding? They hadn't even talked about marriage. They were far from that.

"I wanna get drunk, I want lots of booze," Haymitch said. What was wrong with them?

"Peeta will want to bake the cake with his dad," Prim said and smiled.

"If Katniss is gonna married, she wants to be home," Gale said.

"And it won't feel real if they don't do a toasting," Madge said. Peeta couldn't believe this. They were all serious about this. They wanted this for them. This was something that they actually thought about.

"They want good food. Not the tasteless food you guys serve here," Johanna snapped.

"They want the freedom to have it be private," Finnick said. He was touched that his friends stuck up for them like this. Protecting something, like their wedding. Not that they were at that point, but still. They knew all the important, and not so important reasons why they wouldn't do this.

"We want the choice to get married or to not get married. For us. The only two people who this concerns is Katniss and me. And we don't want anyone's opinion. If and when we decide, it'll be our choice. But every single person here is right," Peeta said, smiling at them all

"Except for Haymitch…and possibly Effie," Katniss said, speaking up for the first time. Haymitch laughed, and Effie's mouth dropped, offended.

"We can have a very lovely ceremony- "Coin tried to say.

"But it won't be real. It'll be just another thing that we had to fake. No, no way. I'm not getting married here," Katniss ground out. Peeta whipped his head around when he heard Johanna laugh again.

"You just secured that you won't get them to get married. Katniss always does the opposite of what people in authority tell her. We're all just lucky she got her head out of her ass about Peeta," Johanna complained. He was thankful and touched by that.

He loved Johanna. She had become his family. He never had a sister, but she was his sister. They went through something together, that bonded them so tightly. She cared deeply, through her sarcasm and tough exterior, about what happened to him. Him and Katniss. She cared about their relationship. She cared about their mental state.

He was brought out of his mental state by Katniss slamming her hands on the table.

"I have been forced with everything. I will NOT be forced to get married for Panem. You're no better than Snow, trying to make me get married. It's my-it's our damn life! My feelings for Peeta have nothing to do with anyone in this room BUT Peeta," she yelled, startling everyone in this room. He smiled. She stuck up for them. He was such a sap. But he couldn't help it. He knew she loved him…but this also worried him. Her moods were all over the place, and completely out of control.

But he knew Coin wasn't done. She crossed her arms and glared at Katniss.

"So. What you're saying is, your relationship is forced, and you don't love him," Coin said smugly. His eyes widened and he looked at Katniss. She was going to lose it…but he was shocked by what he saw. She didn't look upset. She sat back and looked calm, keeping eye contact with Coin.

"Well, someone who's obsessed with power would arrogantly think that's what I just said," Johanna let out a breathy laugh.

"I have a solution," Finnick said, trying to diffuse the tension. Everyone looked at him. "Why don't me and Annie get married. We have no problem displaying our wedding," But Coin had never took her eyes off of Katniss.

"So, they can get married, but you can't?" Coin asked. He knew what she was thinking. That Katniss didn't love him. But she did love Peeta. He knew that!

"They can't get married. Katniss and Peeta's relationship was forced. Forced for public display. Nothing was ever theirs. Nothing was ever private. They couldn't even start a real relationship because they were forced to be in one…Whereas Annie and I have never been able to reveal our relationship. This is the perfect wedding," Finnick said. Coin still didn't look away.

"It's the complete opposite of Peeta and Katniss. We got all the privacy but were forced not to be together. We want Panem to see us," Finnick told her.

"Them getting married is pointless. It would have no effect on Snow other than laughter because they were forced yet again. It was exactly what he wanted to do to them," Haymitch told her.

"It will piss Snow off to see me finally get to marry Annie and be open about our relationship. Katniss isn't the only one he hates. He hates all of us. To see us get married, to see Brutus with his children. To see Blight with another freaken man. This is all going to anger Snow," Finnick said.

"He knows how to get to all of us. He wants all of us to be tortured. Finnick is one of the big ones in Snow's eyes. And Finnick made it worse by making a fool of him in the arena, getting out and surviving. He wants to make Finnick pay. He wants all the Victors to pay. Now more than ever because we're alive," Haymitch said. But nothing was getting through to her.

"Finnick and Annie were kept a secret. Show Panem what Snow did. Show Panem that he kept them apart even though they loved each other," Cinna said.

It was completely quiet in the room as Katniss and Coin had a standoff. Coin was fuming. She was determined to win…but Katniss wouldn't back down. And neither would he. He wanted their wedding to be for them. Not for Panem. Katniss was absolutely right. They would not be forced ever again.

Coin finally relented and left the table without a word. They all turned to Katniss to stare at her.

"What," she asked, fidgeting around.

"I love when this Katniss comes out to play," Johanna said devilishly. There were chuckles around the room.

"Well, there's the girl I love to hate," Haymitch said, pulling a flask out of his jacket, and raising it in the air, before hiding it back in his jacket.

"Good for you for standing up for you and Peeta," Cinna told her.

"I'm so proud of you for fighting for you," Prim told her. Katniss blushed, and Peeta leaned over and kissed her cheek, then pushed some hair away from her face. She had some fire in her eyes. She was coming out of her episode strongly.

"Welcome back love," he whispered to her.

When they got back to her compartment her hugged her. "I'm so proud of you. I know that was so hard after what she had done to you, and you kept your cool," Peeta said. She snorted and pulled back from him.

"Me yelling at her was keeping my cool?" she chuckled.

"Yes. Because I know how much worse that could have been. You could have talked about sending me and Prim into the Capitol," he told her. She looked down at her feet, and he put his fingers under chin and made her look at him.

"Don't think about that. It's in the past," he said. She gave him a sarcastic look. "Well, it hasn't happened this time around yet. But it is our past," he said. She smiled at him.

"I hate when you think of all that. Look how far we've gotten. Look at how much we've accomplished. And look at everyone who's alive," she nodded her head at him and hugged her.

They stood there for a few minutes, just holding each other. Would he ever get over this feeling of having her in his arms. He melted into her every time. He cherished it every, single, time. He loved every time he touched her. Even if it was just a brush of her arm.

Katniss was his. She belonged to him. And sometimes he still couldn't wrap his head around it.

He pulled back and looked at her, running his hands up and down her arms. She shivered, and she bit her bottom lip. He loved the effect he had on her. He could tell that she always felt something as well when they touched. Hers was more of a physical type of a reaction. He felt her shiver, or she'd get goosebumps. Sometimes she'd softly gasp or sigh, or just look at him.

"How about I do something to help you relax," he said, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Like what?" she asked. He smiled brightly at her.

"Well first, I'll rub your back for a while. Ease all those sore muscles and get rid of some of those knots," Peeta said. She smiled up at him and blushed. He loved when she did that. She was still so pure. He hoped she never lost that. It was one of the rare things that she was able to hold on to during this whole mess.

"You've never done that before…I'd like that. That sounds really nice," she said softly. He smiled brightly and hugged her. He moved his lips to her ear.

"And then when I'm done rubbing your back, I'm gonna take my time and make you feel good," he whispered, causing her to shiver. It only encouraged him to keep going. "I wanna love on your breasts for a while," he whispered and then kissed her neck. She let out a gasp. Which just kept spurring him on.

"Then while my mouth is sucking on your breast, I'm gonna bring my hand down and go under your panties, and I'm gonna rub that spot that you love so much and bring you to orgasm," she grabbed onto his back and buried her face in his neck.

"Peeta," she panted. He wrapped his arms around her waist with the top of his hands touching her butt.

"And after you orgasm for me…I'm gonna keep on rubbing you. I'm not gonna stop because I want you to orgasm for me again," she squeezed him even tighter.

"Does that sound good? Do you want me to give you an orgasm," he asked her. She nodded her head.

"Yes," she moaned softly. He pulled back and she licked her lips. "Now," she whispered, but he laughed.

"You just wait," he said and kissed her. "Go lay on the bed on your stomach. And take your clothes off," he said huskily. Katniss nodded her head and went over to their bed. Peeta went and grabbed some lotion out of the bathroom and leaned in the doorway, watching her.

He watched as she unbuttoned her shirt and then took off her tank top underneath it. She reached around and snapped her bra open, and dropped it to the floor, revealing her breasts, and then watched as she pulled her pants off, leaving her in just her panties, and then lay down after that.

He could feel himself harden at the sight. He loved how more open she was becoming with him. He knew that showing her body was difficult. It's why she had never taken off her panties. He knew she was completely not ready for that. And he was fine with that. He could wait. The first time he made love to Katniss, he wanted them to both be ready.

"Are you coming out?" Katniss called out. He shook his head.

"Yes," he said. He pulled off his pants. They would make it harder to spread his legs, and they'd be too scratchy on her. Who was he kidding? He wanted to feel her against his erection.

He crawled on the bed and straddled her. She look over her shoulder at him, surprised. He just chuckled. "How else did you expect me to rub your back?" she smiled and put her head on her arms and closed her eyes.

He poured lotion onto his hands and went to work on her back. He could feel how stiff and tense she was. He could feel the knots. He went straight to work on those knots, listening to her moan softly and hiss at sore spots. He slowly started feeling the tension leave her back.

It was his goal in life to take care of her. He thanked God that she loved him back. He grew up imaging their whole life together. Every day he watched her. He would get embarrassed the times that she would catch his eye, and he looked away. He watched her walking home every day. He lived for the times that she'd come to her back door to give his dad a squirrel, even though he was afraid to talk to her. And he loved when Prim would stop by the window and looked in, because that meant that he'd get to see her. Why didn't he work up the courage to talk to her? He never could muster up the courage to do it.

After a while he started to feel her squirm under his hands. "Are you all right?" he asked her. She turned her head back and looked at him.

"Peeta please," she whispered. He smiled at her and raised himself up and little bit. She took the hint and turned around so she was laying on her back. He licked his lips as he looked down at her, naked from the waist up. She was so beautiful. No amount of fantasizing could compare to the real thing. Sometimes he couldn't believe that they were together. That she as his. That they were intimate with each other. It blew him away. And sometimes he wondered if it were real. That he was just gonna wake up and it was all a dream. He wouldn't let his mind go to that dark place of how they got here.

He reached down and lightly ran a finger around her breast, causing her to close her eyes and sigh. He smiled at her reaction. He watched as his finger caused goosebumps to appear, and to watch her nipples harder. He lightly squeezed her breasts, causing her to moan softly. He loved that he was the one giving her pleasure and getting this reaction out of her.

He started scooting down and started kissing her right under her breasts. "Peeta," she moan out softly. It was a desperate moan, begging for him to touch her breasts again. He kissed and licked his way down to her stomach. Right above her panties. This was as far as he could go. His hand could travel further, but not his eyes. Not his mouth, which he desperately wanted to touch. He wanted to taste her.

"Please come back up here," she whispered. He chuckled and started kissing his way back up and until his face was in front of hers. He kissed her softly.

"What do you need?" he whispered.

"Your hands on me," she pleaded. He reached his hand down to her breast, squeezing it softly. Massaging her breast, making her arch her back. Pushing her breasts into his hand. Circling around her nipple. He knew she wanted him to touch her nipple. She was craving it. He obliged and rubbed his thumb across her hard pebble, causing her to grip his shoulder.

"Is that where you wanted my hand?" he asked her. She went to speak but then he pinched it.

"Yes," she sighed. He did it again. "Please Peeta,"

"Please what? What do you want me to do?" he asked her.

"I want your mouth on me," she begged. He smiled down at her.

"Now that, is something I can do," he told her. He bent his head down and took her nipple into his mouth. Sucking on her just the way she liked it. Just the way she needed it.

His hand snaked down her stomach, down to her panties. "Touch me," she moaned. He cupped her over her panties, making her groan louder and spread her legs. Her pleas were music to his ears. Her panties were soaked through.

He slipped his hand inside her panties and pushed his fingers between her folds, making her gasp. She was incredibly wet. He brought some liquid up to her clit.

"Is this the spot that you needed my fingers? Is this where you wanted me to touch you?" he whispered in her ear.

"Yesss," she hissed. He slowly rubbed her clit.

"God, you're so wet Katniss. I don't think you've ever been this wet before," he leaned down and kissed her. Of course she was. He had only been teasing her with his hands on her back for almost 45 minutes. Katniss blushed from his comment, making him chuckle. She was embarrassed. But she shouldn't be.

"It's just me sweetheart. You don't need to be embarrassed. It's a huge turn on. It just tells me how much you want me," he whispered and kissed her deeply, pushing his tongue into her mouth as far as he could go. It wasn't a rough kiss. It wasn't hard. He was loving and slow. God, he loved her. And he loved that he was lucky enough to get to love her. He loved that their relationship was there's. It belonged to them. It was real.

"I'll never get enough of kissing you," he told her as he pulled back. He ran his finger from the bottom again to her clit. There was more moisture. He moved his head down to her ear.

"When you're this wet, it makes me even harder," he whispered huskily and softly bit her ear. She gasped at his words and at his mouth on her ear. He had never talked dirty to her.

He would say things gently with softer words. Talking around something dirty. But that statement was full on hot to her. It did something to her hearing those words. It made her feel hotter. It made her want him more.

"Please Peeta," she begged, pushing her hips into him.

"Do you feel something down there?" he asked in between kissing all over. Her face, her neck, her collarbone, her breasts.

"God yes," she panted.

"Tell me, "He sucked on her nipple.

"I'm throbbing down there," he smiled and pushed down on her clit harder, rubbing in circles. The noises she made turned him on.

He didn't have to wait long for her to cum, and as he promised he kept rubbing her clit. And her body shook has she had a second powerful orgasm.

They laid there for a while, letting Katniss get her breath back.

"I told you that would relax you," he said, making her laugh.

"Well darlings. I have another hot date tonight. So, no need to wait up for me. And no need to wear any clothes did. Dry hump your little brains out tonight," Johanna said as she came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.

Katniss took the book she was reading and threw it at Johanna's head. Johanna burst out laughing.

"My God you two are such little prudes. Haven't you gotten used to me yet?" and then she threw off her towel and held her arms out. "Perfection, isn't it?" she asked. Peeta wouldn't pick his head up. He was doing pushups in the far corner and just didn't bother because he knew what Johanna was doing. Getting naked.

"Do you always have to be naked?" Katniss asked.

"Yes. Especially since I know it bothers you. It's not like I'm rubbing my tits in your face or something," Johanna said. Peeta fell, and Katniss whipped her head around and scoffed. Totally disgusted as Johanna laughed. Katniss got mad and threw another book on the table that she had been reading earlier at Johanna, which only caused her to laugh harder.

"Please do not do that to my girlfriend. She will kill you," Peeta told her as he grabbed the book Katniss was reading from the floor and handed it back to her. He sat down next to her, avoiding looking at Johanna as she started getting dressed.

"Ooohhh your girlfriend. That's so sweet," Johanna mocked him. She always laughed and teased them when Peeta called Katniss his girlfriend. "I've never heard Katniss say you were her boyfriend though. So, are you really boyfriend and girlfriend?" Katniss narrowed her eyes and glared at her. Peeta could only imagine what was going through her head.

"Peeta's my boyfriend," Katniss said smugly. Johanna just smiled. "At least I can walk down the hall with my boyfriend. What about you? What about your secret little boyfriend? Why don't you show him off? Is he really ugly?" she asked. Peeta laughed.

He loved when Katniss was lighthearted. Even if she was throwing daggers at Johanna. But she was joking. She wasn't in the dark place that took her away from him. She was here, in the present.

She wasn't living in 13 when all that happened before when she came home, and she was in that dark place. The one that took her from him. He hated when she did that. He was so fearful all the time, wondering when she was going to get stuck inside her head, thinking that he was still being tortured in the Capitol. Or that she would forget what had just happened, like talking Seneca Crane in 13, or Thread and some of his Peacekeepers being executed.

"Actually, my boyfriend is pretty hot. You'd like him actually," she winked. Peeta knew why. She was sneaking around with his brother, Ryee. And they did look alike.

Johanna stood back up. "Alright lovelys, I'll see you tomorrow," Johanna sang, and she left. Katniss rolled her eyes.

"She's such a wench sometimes," Katniss grumbled. Peeta just smiled at her.

"Well, I have some very interesting information regarding her and the secret boyfriend," Peeta told her. Katniss' eyes lit up and she smiled evilly and leaned forward on the table.

"Tell me everything you know," she whispered darkly. Peeta just chuckled. It made him so happy that this was a good day for her. She needed more good days. He wished that he could make her life have only good days.

"It's Ryee," he told her. Her eyes widened.

"Are you serious? But he's been so depressed about her. How is it possible?"

"Apparently Ryee roams the halls at night. And when he can't sleep, being the amazing and supportive brother that I am, I let him crash our floor," her mouth fell open this time. "I saw Johanna leave the bunker, and then Ryee did. It's him, I know it,"

"When did you find this out?"

"When the bombings happened,"

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. He just looked at her. She knew why. Katniss couldn't handle anything. She just had to get through it.

It was a week later that Peeta was back in Control to find out that they were revealing that Peeta, Johanna and Enobaria were alive, and that 13 rescued their doppelgangers. To Peeta, it was just another night to torture Katniss. It was just a new form of torture for her now.

It was depressing watching Katniss. She was withering away, and once again he's just throwing her into it. He was sitting by and watching her lose her mind more and more each day. When was enough going to be enough? Coin just didn't care and would keep pushing her.

They sat in a room with the cameras in front of them. Katniss, Peeta, Johanna and Enobaria. Katniss knew what they had to talk about. It wasn't gonna be so bad. She had talked it through with everyone before hand. She got through it relatively calm.

Plutarch tried to give her lines, but Peeta held up his hand.

"No. You're not giving her anything to say," Peeta told him sternly.

"I think we've made the point on her not knowing how to act. Let her just talk. Use her own words to describe what happened. Let her explain it as herself," Haymitch told them.

"Then she can't talk like she's depressed and ready to kill herself," Coin stopped when there were gasps around the room. She didn't understand like everyone else did. Katniss did kill herself. Peeta looked at Katniss. Her face was unreadably. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I'm going to do what I want. And no one in this room is going to tell me I have to pretend to be the Capitol Katniss. That giddy little schoolgirl is gone," Katniss said and walked out.

Peeta watched her since they had left Command that morning. He wasn't sure how she was going to get through this.

"Alright. Just remember Katniss, just tell the story. Any way you want to," Haymitch told her. She nodded her head, and Cressida waved when they were on. But Katniss froze. This was airing all over Panem.

Peeta cleared his throat. "Good evening Panem. Most of you all know me. I'm Peeta Mellark. This is Katniss Everdeen, Johanna Mason and Enobaria Rampart," he said and looked at Katniss. She looked at him and was biting her lip. He would start this for her, so he looked back at the camera.

"I know no one has seen us in the past few months, except for the three of us doing interviews," Peeta said, motioning to Johanna and Enobaria. "So, we'd like to share with you what happened. When we left the arena," Peeta said and looked at Katniss. She nodded her head.

"There were two hovercrafts. One had me, Finnick and Beetee. The second one had Peeta, Johanna and Enobaria," Katniss gulped again but kept going.

She told Panem about how the hovercraft crashed. How they walked for over a month to District 13. 13 had to hide the fact that the three of them were alive. That Peeta was with them when they went around the ruins of what used to be District 12. How they were in District 8, when Snow bombed the hospital.

She used her own words. She spoke as herself. Panem was hearing her voice, and she stayed strong through the story. He was so proud of her.

"Snow didn't know who was on which hovercraft. He had to wait till I showed him I was alive. But he knew there were two hovercrafts. He knew where we all were when the arena came down. And he knew I was alive…he needed to draw me out. He needed me to come out of hiding…" she looked over at Peeta, and he just nodded his head. He knew she could do this. She turned back to the camera.

"So, Snow used a fake Peeta…the Peeta that Panem saw asking for a cease fire, wasn't Peeta. You saw Johanna and Enobaria, but it wasn't them. Snow took three people who looked similar to us and tortured them into believing that they were Peeta, Johanna and Enobaria. He used tracker jacker venom to high jack them. He gave them plastic surgery to show them they were these people…but it was all a lie," she seethed. She became angry at her last sentence. Peeta eyed Haymitch.

"There was no way real way to prove that the people that stood next to Snow were real…so District 13 saved them. They're here with us. And we'd like to show them," Peeta said. He looked over at Katniss.

"Are you gonna be ok seeing him?" Peeta asked. She had seen Johanna and Enobaria's twins through a window. But this was Peeta she was going to look at. She wasn't going to be ok. But they knew that she would have to stand next to them.

A tear fell down her cheek, and Peeta wiped it away. Her and Haymitch brought her into the room, and she gasped when she saw him.

"Peeta," she whispered. Peeta grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly.

"That's not me Katniss. That's someone Snow made to look like me. I'm standing with you. It's me touching you," he told her loudly. She shook and nodded her head.

They're gonna be given morphling. Not enough to knock them out, but enough to keep them calm," Haymitch told her. She looked over at him.

"Give me some to," she pleaded.

"Katniss no. No one's giving you morphling. But Effie has some anxiety pills for you to take,"

It was a shock when his twin saw her for the first time. Since he was high on morphling, he didn't act violently. He was cruel to her in his words, but they weren't said with any anger.

The four of them got up and walked over to the chairs where their Doppelgangers sat. They stood behind them, while Katniss stood of to the side, not looking at the twins. Johanna waved her hand.

"Hi President Snow. I'm over here," she sang. Peeta just ignored her and took a deep breath.

"What Snow did to these three people is, and I'd like to quote what he made this man right here say. The attack, on these three people was a callous and inhuman act of destruction," it was what he made Peeta say last time. He closed his eyes for a moment. That was the interview that he told Katniss that they were going to bomb District 13. The night they beat him and hijacked him.

"They starved him and beat him to hurt Katniss. To draw her out of District 13, so he could kill her. And these three paid the price for his viciousness," Peeta said. Johanna snorted and crossed her arms.

"He shot them all up with trackerjacker venom and made them three little killing machines, to kill any Victor on sight," Johanna said, she was annoyed.

"Especially Katniss. What President Snow wanted, was for my twin to see Katniss and then try to kill her. But we knew this was going to happen. This is why they've been given morphling. So, they could be calm. District 13 is doing everything they can for them. Coming back from a highjacking…" Peeta trailed off. He needed to get his voice back.

"There's no damn way to come back from a hijacking," Johanna said abruptly. "These three think that their us. They manipulated them with fake images. He showed Peeta's twin a fake video of Katniss bombing District 12, and personally killing his family," Johanna said.

"He was fairly nice to mine. She's only meant to kill when she sees someone. Otherwise, she's a completely normal person. He doesn't hate District 2 like he does the others," Enobaria said, speaking for the first time.

"They're never going to be normal again," Katniss whispered. Luckily, she had a mic on so they could hear her. "They're never gonna to be cured…Snow did all of this just to kill a 17-year-old girl," Katniss said and huffed, shaking her head.

"All because he hates Katniss, and what she represents. Katniss Everdeen represents hope. And Snow hates hope. He once told Seneca Crane that hope is the one thing that's stronger than fear," Johanna interrupted him. And then her eyes widened, and she smiled.

"Oh, by the way, President Snow. You're good ole buddy Seneca, is hanging out with us in 13," Johanna said. There were a few sets of people that moved. Katniss looked over at Peeta in confusion, while he looked at her in alarm. Finnick waved his hands around while Haymitch waved his hand across his neck.

Katniss had no memory of meeting Seneca Crane. Johanna covered her mouth. Plutarch started moving his hands in a circle.

"Keep going," he whispered.

"Katniss told all of Panem to not believe the Capitol that they want to take care of us. That they will treat us better. Because they won't. Snow is a liar, and he's a sadistic man who tortures people. These three people will never be the same. They may never believe that they're not us…stand up and fight against President Snow. Because if we don't…all our hope will be gone," Peeta said. They cut the feed and a few people came to help the three doppelgangers up and back to their rooms.

"That was excellent. Except for one part," Plutarch glared at Johanna. It was the first time that he saw her at a loss for words.

"Are you recording this?" Finnick asked Cressida. He laughed and turned back around. "I've never seen you at a loss for words," Johanna just rolled her eyes.

"So, I fucked up. So, sue me," she snarked back.

Everyone started cleaning things up and Peeta turned to Katniss. She stepped back, which kind of startled him a little. It was odd for her to not let Peeta touch her. But then he realized what was wrong. She was trying to fight back having a flashback of when Peeta was hijacked. She was scared of him.

"Why don't we go back to our compartment," he said as he took a step back. "Haymitch," he waved over. Haymitch gave him an odd look and he walked over.

"Will you walk with Katniss back to our compartment?" he asked. Haymitch raised his eyebrow to question him, but Peeta moved his head to the side once to say no. He nodded his head.

"Come on sweetheart," Haymitch said and wrapped his arm around her. Peeta followed Katniss to their compartment.

When would this stop? For the next few months all they would do is torture her. For almost four years all they had been doing was torturing her. She was mentally unstable. Peeta was terrified every day that she would hit her limit. That she'd lose herself. She'd fall into her own mind, and she'd stop living. That she'd end up staring at the wall every day…but then he thought of the other way of how'd she stop living. She would take her own life again. He thought of this every day. He had so many nightmares of her killing herself. He just couldn't let this happen to her. Ever since they came back, since they had this second chance, he had dedicated his life to her. He dedicated his life to taking care of her. He'd do it for the rest of his life, even if she did lose herself. He'd take of her if she sat in a rocking chair until the day that he died…that was how much he loved her.

They walked into their compartment and she just kinda stood there. "Are you gonna be ok Katniss?" Haymitch asked her. She softly nodded her head. "Alright. Come get me if you need me," he said as he left. Katniss walked over and sat on the bed.

"You were captured by the Capitol. Real or not real," she whispered. His heart broke when he heard that. How had she fallen this far? He sat down next to her.

"Real," he answered, choking on the word.

"Snow hijacked you. Real or not real," he let out a deep breath.

"Real,"

"When I died, I imagined this whole thing and I'm really dead and so are you. Real or not real?"

"No Katniss that's not real. That's not true," he said and picked up her hands. He pulled her chin sideways to look at him.

"You did…you did die," he couldn't speak the words out loud. "But your father gave us this second chance. So, this time, I got out of the arena. I wasn't captured. And I made it back here to you. I'm right here, and I'm not hijacked," he told her.

"Snow said this is a dream and that he killed you," Katniss said. He felt his blood stop moving.

"No Katniss. That's not real. Snow talking to you isn't real. I'm real. I'm right here," he said pulled both hands on her cheek, and leaned forward and kissed her and then pulled back. "That's a real kiss. I'm real. Don't listen to Snow. Always just follow the sound of my voice. I'll lead you out of that darkness. I'll always be right here to catch you when you fall. I'll be here so I can take care of you," he told her. She bit her lip slightly.

"Always," he whispered. She let out a deep breath and leaned into him.

"He won't go away," she whispered. Why was this happening to her?

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. There was nothing he could say. Absolutely nothing. "Let's just go to sleep a little early tonight," he suggested.

She let him help her change her clothes and they got into bed. Within a few minutes she was fast asleep.

Later that night was the first of three nights in a row of terrible and horrific nightmares. Katniss woke up screaming and pushing Peeta away.

"Katniss it's ok," Peeta said. She stepped back and fell into Johanna's bed, sitting on her.

"He's trying to kill me. He thinks I'm a mutt," she cried. Johanna struggled to sit up with Katniss on top of her, but Joanna managed to grab her arm.

"Katniss just breathe. Peeta's not going to hurt you," Johanna told her. But Katniss wouldn't listen.

"Katniss just calm down ok. I'm not hijacked. I don't think that you're a mutt," Peeta said as he tried to bend down to touch her, but she jumped up and tried to get away. Johanna was able to jump up and tried to hold her back.

"GET AWAY!" She screamed and bit Peeta on his upper arm, instantly drawing blood. Johanna couldn't hold her without Peeta's help and Katniss ran out of their compartment. Screaming for help.

Peeta and Johanna ran after her. "I've never seen her like this before," Johanna said.

"KATNISS STOP!" Peeta yelled at her.

"HAYMITCH HELP! HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!" Katniss screamed. It caused people to start opening their doors.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Gale asked, running out to Peeta.

"She thinks Peeta's trying to kill her," Johanna said. Katniss screamed for Haymitch again, and Cinna and Finnick appeared.

"What happened?" Finnick asked as he started running with them. She was running to fast down all the winding halls, trying to lose them.

Haymitch finally appeared and Katniss went running into him. She caught him off guard and he stumbled backwards. "Please Haymitch. Peeta's trying to kill me. He thinks I'm a mutt. He tried to choke me," she sobbed. Everyone caught up to her as she sobbed in Haymitch's arms.

"Katniss please, I'm not trying to kill you," Peeta said. Katniss tried to run away from Peeta, but Haymitch held onto her. He wouldn't have been able to hold her back unless Gale and Cinna helped.

"Katniss calm down. No one's going to hurt you," Gale told her. She fell against Cinna.

"Snow tortured him. He sent Peeta to kill me," she cried. She slid down to the floor and sobbed.

"Go get Cenia," Haymitch told Cinna. He nodded and ran off.

"Katniss I'm right-"Finnick stopped Peeta from going towards her. She was sobbing on the floor. This wasn't ok. She wasn't ok. Peeta grabbed at hair and just paced. He squatted against the wall and covered his face. When was this going to end? When was her suffering going to end?

"I heard Katniss screaming," Effie said as she came around the corner. She gasped when she saw her. Putting her hand to her chest, and then covering her mouth as tears filled her eyes. Haymitch sat down and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Everything's going to be ok Katniss," Haymitch told her. But Katniss just laid there sobbing. Finnick and Gale sat down as well. The three of them just sat around her, trying to comfort her. But they knew it was hopeless.

"You're going to be ok Katniss," Finnick told her. Would she be ok? Would she ever be ok? It sure as hell didn't seem like it.

"Please don't hijack him," she cried. The tips of his toes bounced as he watched her. He scrubbed at his furiously. Shoving the tears from forming in his eyes. He was pushing them so hard that he thought they'd pop out the back of his head. He didn't want to cry. But how could he not? He was starting to lose hope for her the worse that she got.

"He tried to kill me in the Capitol after the pod went off," He couldn't stop the sob from leaving his throat has he cried. He finally slid all the way down and buried his face in his knees. Effie squatted down next to him and pulled him to her chest as he just broke down. When was this going to end? He couldn't keep watching her go through this.

"What happened?" Cenia asked as she ran up with Cinna.

"She had a nightmare. She thought Peeta was trying to kill her. She thinks he's hijacked," Johanna said.

"He is hijacked. Snow killed him," She cried. Cenia bent down.

"Katniss, I need you to breathe. I need you to calm down and just concentrate on your breathing," Cenia told her. But she still just sobbed.

"He was so good. He was the kindest person. And Snow murdered him. He's a Capitol mutt that was made to kill me," Katniss cried. He wanted to end her suffering so badly.

"You're not breathing Katniss. I don't want you to talk. I want you to listen to my voice. I want you to follow my voice," Cenia told her.

"Don't listen to Snow. Always just follow the sound of my voice. I'll lead you out of that darkness. I'll always be right here to catch you when you fall. I'll be here so I can take care of you,"

He picked his head up and looked at her. His voice. He just told her this tonight. She needed to hear his voice.

He stood up, with Effie trying to keep him there. He walked up to Katniss, with Finnick and Gale trying to stop him, but he waved them off. He bent down next to Cenia and touched her face.

"Katniss…listen to the sound of my voice," Peeta told her. She covered her ears with her hands and curled up into a ball.

"I just wanted to save my sister. I just wanted to keep Peeta alive. I didn't want a war. Please just let him go. It should have been me. It should have been me. Just take me instead," she cried. But Peeta took her hand away from her head.

"Katniss…listen to the sound of my voice. Just listen to my voice. No one else's voice. I'm right here. Just come back to me," Peeta told her. Cenia moved and let Peeta get in front of her. "Just breathe. That's all I want you to do is just breathe. Catch your breath," he told her, repeating what Cenia was saying.

Everyone looked at each other when after a minute her sobbing started slowing down. Everyone waited in silence for about ten minutes until all they could hear was Katniss breathing heavy.

"That's good. You're ok now. You're gonna be ok," he told her. She still hadn't opened her eyes.

"He told me he's going to kill you," Katniss whispered. Snow! Peeta laid down on the floor and put his face right in front of hers. He cupped her cheek and wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"Katniss open your eyes," he told her. She started trembling. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Just listen to me. You're safe with me," he told her. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Her chin trembling when she saw him.

"He won't leave me alone. I just want him to leave me alone," she cried softly.

"I know sweetheart. But it's not real. Him talking to you isn't real,"

"I can't do this anymore," it scared him when she said things like that.

"But it'll get better. You'll get better. I know you will," he said and ran his hand over her hair. He stood up and bent down. Gale jumped and helped stand her up enough so Peeta could scoop her up into his arms.

"Come on sweetheart. I'll take you back to bed," he whispered and carried her off. Everyone just stood there and watched Peeta walk away.

"How much longer can she last like this?" Effie whispered and wiped at her face.

"She wasn't this bad when she got to the Capitol for the Quell," Finnick said.

"She wasn't even that bad on the Victory Tour," Johanna said.

"She started this when she got back from the Games…the first time," Gale said. No one could really speak after that. "She was always headed for this. If everything didn't happen after the first Games…it would have just taken her longer to get here," Gale said, putting his head down and looking at the floor.

Finnick turned his head, and finally realized what Johanna was wearing and snickered.

"What?" she asked. He pointed his hand at her body, moving up and down. She looked down and realized she was wearing a tight wife beater and a thong. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I mean, I've worn less," she said. They chuckled lightly at her. Finnick put his arm around her.

"Come on, I'll give you some clothes," Finnick laughed.

The second night wasn't much better. When she woke up screaming again, it wasn't for Peeta, or fearful that he would hurt her. She was screaming for Finnick. She thrashed around while Peeta pulled her back to his chest. Johanna had already jumped up and was sitting on the bed in front of her, trying to stop her arms.

"Katniss it's not real," Peeta told her. But she sobbed.

"SAVE HIM. DON'T LET HIM DIE. FINNICK!" She screamed as loud as she could.

"Katniss, Finnick's alive alright? Finnick's ok," Peeta told her, rocking her back and forth. But she just sobbed.

"I killed him. I let him die," she collapsed back into Peeta, giving up her fight.

"No sweetheart. You didn't let him due," Peeta tried to soothe her. She started screaming for Finnick again.

"Go get Finnick. I got her," Peeta ordered Johanna. She nodded her head and went running down the hall. She didn't even bother knocking as she stormed into his compartment and started shaking him.

"What the-"Finnick jumped, making Annie jump.

"Finnick?" Annie asked as she sat up.

"Johanna? What's wrong?" he asked her.

"It's Katniss. She's having another nightmare. But it's about you," Johanna told him. Finnick looked at her for a minute and turned his head when he felt Annie's hand on her shoulder.

"You should stay with her tonight," Annie told him. He nodded and stood up and rushed throwing on a shirt and sweatpants. He leaned down and kissed Annie, and then he and Johanna ran back down to the hall.

"God, you can hear her screaming from my room," Finnick said as they ran in.

"Please help him. Please help him," She sobbed, shaking the collar of Peeta's shirt.

"Katniss, he doesn't need help. Finnick's alive," Peeta tried to convince her. Finnick ran in then. "Katniss he's right here," Peeta said, trying to make her look towards Finnick. He sat in front of her and pulled her towards him.

"Katniss look at me," Finnick said, forcing her to look at him. Her eyes widened. "See, I'm alive," he said and took her hands and placed them on his face.

"Katniss he's right here. You were just dreaming. He's alive now," Peeta soothed. She had stopped screaming, but her body started trembling, and she let out a sob.

"Finnick," she cried. Finnick pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry. It was my fault that you died. I'm so, so, sorry," she cried. Peeta sat back against the wall, sighing deeply.

"Honey it's not your fault. It was never your fault. I chose to fight, knowing that I could die. Why can't you believe this?" Finnick asked her. She couldn't. She just held onto him tightly. It was a question Peeta asked himself every day. Why wouldn't Katniss believe that nothing was her fault?

Katniss just kept on crying into his chest. "Has she gotten any sleep?" Finnick asked. Peeta shrugged his shoulders.

"A little. Not much though. She keeps waking up from nightmares. This one was worse than the one a few hours ago," Peeta said, rubbing his face. She had a nightmare, but he was able to soothe her back to sleep.

He was making sure she wasn't sleep deprived like she had been before. Not sleeping for days and then having an episode. When something had to happen for her to stop sleeping to trigger an episode. He kinda wished for those days again when they were still at home. It wasn't this bad then. She could still make it through the days. But now…every day was an episode.

Katniss pulled back and looked at Finnick. "Please don't go to the Capitol. You'll die," she whispered. Johanna just sat down on her bed. Finnick just looked down at Katniss. How could they even answer her? It was her worst fears haunting her. Finnick still dying.

Peeta leaned forward and kissed the back of her head. "It's ok Katniss. Just lay down ok. You need to get some more sleep," he told her. Katniss covered her face with her hands.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" she cried into her hands. Peeta was helpless. He couldn't do anything but run his hand up and down her back. He leaned forward and cradled her head and kissed the top of it.

"I don't know. But you just need to get some sleep," Finnick told her, moving so he could help her lay down, but she instantly grabbed for him.

"Please don't go Finnick. Please don't go to the Capitol. You'll die," she cried. Peeta pulled on her shoulders and scooted back and maneuvered around so he could lay on his side as close to the wall as he could.

"I'll stay," Finnick said as he helped push Katniss towards Peeta. Peeta pulled Katniss so her back was flush up against him while Finnick got on his side facing Katniss. Katniss fell into his chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry," she cried. Peeta looked at Finnick over her shoulder. He just didn't know what to say anymore. He was utterly helpless.

"You gotta stop being sorry Katniss," Finnick told her and kissed the top of her head.

Peeta was exhausted. He didn't even feel like a man. He was so thankful for this second chance. Beyond thankful. But what did it cost Katniss to do this all over again?

It was honestly something only a Victor could understand. Sleeping in the same bed together. Now granted, Peeta couldn't imagine him and Finnick sharing a bed together by themselves, but it wasn't awkward to be sleeping in the same bed, with Katniss in between them. And it wasn't even weird that Katniss had her face buried in Finnick's neck.

There was no jealousy. It was for comfort. Having a nightmare of Finnick dying…she needed Finnick then. Peeta telling her over and over that he was alive wasn't going to help. She needed him. And that was ok with Peeta.

There was a point in the middle of the night where Peeta and Finnick were trying to move their hands. They were in a position that there was no way that their arms weren't going to touch. At one point they even chuckled at it as Finnick's arm was over Peeta's.

It should be strange. But it wasn't at all. He should feel jealous, but he didn't. He should feel angry that her face is buried in his neck, but he wasn't. He should be mad and depressed that she needed Finnick to comfort her, and not Peeta…but he just wasn't. It truly was a Victor thing.

"As always…ladies first," Effie said as she walked over and pulled the only piece of paper out of the glass bowl. It had already been large, but it looked even bigger with only one slip of paper.

"Katniss Everdeen," No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! She wasn't going up there! She wasn't going back into the Hunger Games!

She felt hands grab her. She turned slightly to look up into his face. President Snow. He was laughing and shoved her into Effie.

"I volunteer as tribute," Peeta said. Katniss ran to him.

"Don't you dare do this," Katniss cried.

"He has no choice Mrs. Everdeen," Snow said and laughed again. She could smell blood and roses. "I'm going to take him and hijack him all over again. And this time he WILL kill you," Snow just kept on laughing as they were being pulled away.

"KATNISS!" Prim yelled. Katniss was fighting against Commander Thread to run to Prim.

"LET ME GO! I need to say goodbye. I need to protect Prim," Katniss cried, reaching for Prim, who was standing behind Snow.

"Mockingjays don't have sisters," Snow said and sliced Prim's throat. Blood going everywhere. Her little body crumpled to the ground while her mother was screaming.

"Katniss it's ok. It's ok," Peeta soothed her, rocking her crying body. "It's ok. It wasn't real. No matter what you were dreaming, it wasn't real," Katniss sobbed for Prim in his arms. He looked up at Johanna. He ignored the fact that she was only wearing underwear. Peeta continued to hold her.

"I didn't get to say goodbye. She died in the Capitol. They killed her," she sobbed.

"She's ok now Katniss. She's alive," Peeta told her. They sat there for a few minutes

Peeta kissed the side of her head. Johanna had sat down on the edge and took Katniss' hand.

"I didn't get to say goodbye to her. We weren't supposed to go back into the arena. We were supposed to be free from the arenas," she sobbed. Her nightmares were getting more and more out of hand.

"Isn't there anything we could get from the Capitol to help her sleep? To help her with her anxiety?" Peeta asked.

"There's nothing in 13 like that. They don't produce medication like that," Cenia said sadly.

"Don't we have contacts from the Capitol that we can get some?"

"We've tried," Haymitch said. "The Capitol is keeping that stuff locked up tight. Even from their own citizens. One of our informants says their thinking about using the pills to do a mass poisoning of some of the Districts. Put it all into the water," Haymitch scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Then what about the other Districts? Don't we have any friends that could get some?" Peeta begged.

"They've really tried Peeta. No one has access to any medication right now," Cenia told him.

Peeta just wished he could get her something to help her. Something to help her sleep, her hallucinations, the voices in her head, her moods, her depression, her anxiety and her control on reality. He just needed something to help her. Anything.

"Go get Prim," Peeta told Johanna. He buried his face in her neck and just held her why she cried.

He felt numb to this now. Numb to feeling terrible. He was numb to feeling guilty of pushing her into this. She needed help and all he could do was sit by and hold her. there was nothing more he could offer. He tried to do everything he could to keep her going. But he had no more ideas. He just had to watch as she got worse and worse. He was finally starting to feel like he had to accept this. That she wasn't going to get any better.

He swallowed the sob back that was trying to explode. He refused to let it though. He just held her. rocked her. Soothed her. Whispered in her ear. But like always, it wasn't going to help.

Prim and Johanna came back, and Prim sat next to her. "Katniss it's ok, I'm right here," Prim said. Katniss turned in Peeta's arms and let out another sob. Crying now into Prim's arms.

"I didn't get to say goodbye. I never got to say goodbye. They just took me away from you and put me in the arena and I didn't say goodbye," she sobbed. Peeta leaned against the wall and scrubbed his face with his hands. He'd never get through to Katniss. The conversation he had with Katniss' father suddenly came back to him.

"Katniss is sick. We all know that. She can't sleep, and she's depressed. Haymitch was right about that Post Traumatic Stress. She has it and is told she can't get any help until it's all over. I'm not going to lie to you and say it's going to get better. These episodes aren't going to stop. She's still going to have these moments. She's going to get a lot worse before she gets better. And it's going to be very hard. Even when everything is all over, she's going to need you most, because that's when she's going to need to deal with every single thing, she's been through. And the only way she's ever going to make it through, is with you. Because you'll be standing by her the whole time," he said.

That seemed like a lifetime ago. Her episodes won't stop. She'll get a lot worse before she gets better. When everything's over, she's going to need Peeta the most. He scrubbed his face. Would she make it that long?

Prim pulled Katniss back and made her look at her. "But Katniss, you didn't have to say goodbye. We escaped. All of us. And we got to District 13 together. We didn't have to say goodbye," Prim told her.

"You were burning. I couldn't save you,"

"But I'm ok now. Daddy saved me. He gave us a second chance. I'm alive. And I won't die because I'm not going back into the Capitol," Prim told her. He could tell by the way she looked at Prim for a moment that she was coming back out of her nightmare. Katniss looked around at them. Ashamed.

"Oh God," she groaned and covered her face with her hands. "How do I keep doing this? I don't want to feel like this for the rest of my life," she cried into her hands.

"You won't have to," Prim said. The three of them just looked at her. "Once this is all over...and the day the reaping's are supposed to be held, and there's nothing...Maybe when a whole year goes by with no Hunger Games. Maybe when districts start getting rebuilt...then that memory of the reaping for the quarter quell will hurt less," Prim told her, wiping a tear from her face. Johanna sat down.

"Some will always hurt though," Johanna said, looking down at her hands. She scoffed. "Not everybody who died gets to come back right?" she asked softly. Peeta knew that she was talking about her family. The day she was reaped will always haunt her. Her family was there the first time…but the second time she was reaped…they weren't.

Peeta grabbed her hand. "But the people that are here, you just gotta hold onto. They're never going to replace all your family. But we made our own new family," Peeta told her. Johanna looked up and smiled at him.

He got Katniss to lay down with Prim, while he got up. He would just sleep with Johanna. He looked all around on the floor for his shirt. He looked up at Johanna, who pulled the shirt she was wearing away from her body and smiled. She was wearing his shirt. Peeta just rolled his eyes and then pointed at her.

"You keep that thing on," Peeta warned her as he grabbed another shirt and pulled it on and then started getting into her bed.

"Can I at least take off my underwear?" she asked. Peeta glared at her while she chuckled and got into bed with him.

It took a few more days, but then Katniss started coming back to herself a little bit. Peeta knew it was the fresh air that did a lot for her. They just laid on a hill for two hours. Just feeling the sun on her face really did help.

Katniss acted a little odd though. She kept wandering off by herself, which was unusual for her. He asked her about it, but she just told him she was walking around. And he was hoping that she was telling him the truth.

Peeta was distracted just thinking about where she was at the moment. If she was ok. She had been distracted the past few days. And he had been distracted about her being distracted.

He put his elbows on the tables and groaned into his hands.

"Are we boring you?" Coin asked. Peeta took his hands away from his face. He totally forgot he was in Command for the millionth meeting. Everyone was smirking or trying not to laugh. How loud had he groaned?

"I'm sorry," he said sheepishly.

"What exactly were you groaning about, Lover boy?" Axel asked. Axel Vexer. District 6, 72nd Victor. Sometimes he forgot how young some of the Victors are. Axel is only 19. Two years older than him and Katniss.

It surprised him sometimes how close in age so many of them were to him and Katniss. Marlah won the year before them, from District 11. She was only one year older. Johanna and her were both only 18 years old right now. Annie was only three years older.

He felt someone put their hand on his shoulder. It was Effie. "Darling are you ok?" Effie asked. Peeta nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Just…keep going," Peeta told them. Plutarch cleared his throat.

"Alright. The propos have been filling up every tv screen nonstop with all the Victors stories. There's no way to stop it. All of Panem is going crazy. Listening to ever single sad tale. It's genius," Plutarch said happily.

"I'm so glad that our tragic tale of suffering can inspire some of your best masterpieces yet," Haymitch said, holding up a flask. Coin's eyes flared. "Relax. It's water," he lied.

"It really has. I am inspired. Tomorrow night is THE night. We're gonna reveal to Snow that the Tributes from the 74th and 75th Games are really alive," Plutarch cheered. He looked around, expecting enthusiasm. "This is what we've been waiting for. I expected there to be some happy faces," Plutarch said, looking around. Completely disappointed. He looked over at Peeta.

"We're gonna fire back before Snow has a chance to take revenge on us about revealing what he did with the doppelgangers. We have great footage of you and Katniss in District 12, when you went back to look at the rubble. And with you and your brothers. We've been waiting for this moment. It's a big moment. Why aren't any of you happy?" Plutarch asked.

"Because everyone just wants this to all be over with. No one even cares anymore," Johanna said miserably.

"Well," Blight said and stood up. "I for one am bored. So, I don't mind being in a propo finally. Put me in the spotlight. Let us have some fun,' he said, pointing to Cashmere and then winking at her. She tried to hold in the gulp of water she was drinking as she started laughing.

"Yeah, I'm fucking bored to. You all can take a break while our pretty faces start plastering the tv screens of Panem," Gloss said seductively, and smiled.

"I'm so ready to have some fun," Glimmer said and sat up straight, smiling from ear to ear.

"It ain't all that it's cracked up to be Blondie," Johanna grumbled.

"Anything's better than the same thing day after day after day," Glimmer complained.

"How are we going to do it?" Ron from District 4 asked. Plutarch just seemed way too excited about this. Peeta couldn't understand why. He looked around the room and really noticed how the enthusiasm was just sucked out of the room. No one wanted to play war anymore. Everyone wanted to go home and sleep in their own beds.

"We're gonna start with Quarter Quell. Then we'll bring out all the kids from the 74th Games. We're gonna have Peeta direct the whole thing- "

"No. I don't want to do that," Peeta said. Coin glared at him.

"Plutarch is giving you a direct order," Coin told him.

"It's not an order. He wants me to play host to another tv show. And right behind this curtain is Gloss and Cashmere Grandeur from District 1, still alive! Let's hear it folks for our favorite brother and sister!" Peeta said, imitating Caesar Flickerman. Everyone around the room started laughing.

"Just let Caesar do it. He's been dying to show off his face as well," Cinna laughed.

"I want Peeta to do it," Coin said, staring at Peeta. Peeta just groaned into his hands again.

"You might as well just save your breath. I'm not doing it. I'm tired. I'm done with all of this. Let Caesar do it. I'll be standing on the side, but I'm not leading the charge alright?" Peeta said and walked out. He was always walking out. He was tired of everything. He wanted it all to be done so they could move on.

No one even came after him, which was surprising. But he welcomed the time to himself. He just needed some time to himself for once. He was tired of talking about war. He was tired of talking about the Hunger Games. All he wanted was to lay down in his bed, his own bed in District 12…with Katniss. All he wanted was to start that life with her.

He didn't mean to, but he fell asleep. It was a dreamless sleep. He felt guilty because he enjoyed not being woken up by nightmares. His, or hers. It made him feel awful. What was wrong with him? He needed to be the rock. He needed to be able to be there for Katniss. And he was sleeping and enjoying being by himself for the day? God, he made himself sick.

Katniss and Johanna came in a little while later. "Look who's finally awake," Johanna said as she went into the bathroom. Katniss placed a tray of food on the table, and then went over to the bed and sat down.

"Hey," Katniss said and leaned down and kissed him, smiling softly. He sat up and pushed some hair off her shoulder.

"Hey. How long have I been sleeping?" Peeta asked.

"You slept through lunch and dinner. I brought you dinner," Katniss said, looking at the table. He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you," he told her. She nodded her head sadly at him. "You ok?" he asked her. She looked down at her hands in her lap.

"I've been keeping you awake with my nightmares," she said as she fidgeted her hands. He took her hands into his and she looked up at him.

"No, you haven't. I'm able to fall back to sleep. I'm just…" he trailed off and looked at the wall. "The stress of all this crap. It's just getting to me I think," he said and looked back up at her. He felt guilty for lying to her. Her nightmares were keeping him awake. But so were his own nightmares.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. He pulled her to him, and she buried her face into his neck.

"Please don't say that. Please don't be sorry. I'm just tired. It's been a rough few days,"

"I've made them rough. I'm not stupid Peeta," she said. He pulled her back to look at him.

"What's happening to you has made it rough for me. Nothing you do is making it hard…" he trailed off and ran his hands through his hair. "Watching you fall apart from all of this. Pushing you into all this. I'm upset because there's nothing that I can do for you. All I can do is sit by and watch you crumble and…" he dug his fingers into his eyeballs. Willing himself not to cry again.

"It kills me to sit by and watch you like this," he whispered. They sat there for a few minutes. He could only imagine what was going on in her head. He didn't mean to say any of that. He shouldn't have said anything. It would just give her something else to feel guilty about. He needed to wake up. He needed to be strong for her again. His exhaustion would just hurt Katniss in the long run.

Johanna took that moment to come out of the bathroom, pulling on some lingerie. It made the two of them laugh as they saw her. She smiled and turned around, showing off her butt with a thong. "Too much?" she asked. Katniss chuckled and wiped her eyes.

"Not enough," Katniss said. Johanna smiled and pushed her boobs up.

"This bra is my favorite. Really makes these girls pop!" Johanna said, referring to her boobs. Peeta snorted and shook his head. Johanna grabbed her dress and pulled it on. It barely covered her butt.

"Gonna hook up with mystery man tonight?" Peeta asked. Katniss eyed him carefully.

"Oh, you know it. But he's inaccessible at the moment. So, I'm going to go be entertained by some horror story of Muscida's," Johanna laughed as she pulled her shoes on.

"I think I've heard enough since the mystery of the tenth Hunger Games Victor," Katniss grumbled.

"I love her mysteries. How do you think Finnick got the idea to stop charging his 'company' with money and jewels?" Johanna asked as she straightened her dress and turned around in the mirror. She looked back at both of them. "Muscida told him that any secret he unearthed would prove to be very useful down the road," she said and looked at them.

"And that old bitch is never wrong," she took one last spin in the mirror and smiled. "Alright you two. I'll see you for breakfast tomorrow. So you have the whole night to foreplay it out all night long," Johanna said and left. Katniss glared at her and slowly turned her head to Peeta.

"We're catching her tonight," Katniss told him, narrowing her eyes in an evil way. Peeta smiled and chuckled. He would take this Katniss any day.

"Well, what's the plan sweetheart?" he asked her.

"Muscida's compartment is right next to Finnick's. We'll stay with him until she leaves, and we'll follow her. Then expose them," Katniss said, and smiled brightly at him. He laughed and leaned forward to kiss her on the lips. He rested his forehead against hers and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I love when you're like this," he admitted softly. He leaned forward and kissed her again. He'd steal these moments for her. Moments of distraction. Moments to just have a little fun. Feel lighthearted. He wanted this for her so much.

They got up and went down the hallway, making sure to watch out for Johanna.

"And what brings you two down here?" Finnick asked as he opened the door.

"Wanna catch Johanna with her mystery guy?" Katniss asked smugly. His eyes lit up brightly, and he pulled on her shoulder.

"Get in here," he told them. He walked back into his compartment and turned to them. "Alright, spill. What do you know?" he asked.

"It's my brother. Ryee," Peeta said.

"He figured it out when…" she kind of trailed off. Finnick didn't let her dwell on it, even though he had no idea when Peeta figured it out.

"And you're sure it's Ryee?" he asked. They both nodded their heads.

"She's next door visiting with Muscida. Then she's going to meet up with him," Katniss said.

"Alright then. Who's on first watch? We'll crack open my door and wait until we see her leave," Finnick said as he jumped up and down. The three of them were too excited about letting out the secret.

"Why the sudden rush to expose her? Why not let her have some more fun with her secret?" Finnick asked them.

"I want revenge for her opening her big fat mouth about my…" Katniss trailed off again and Finnick burst out laughing, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"That's what this is about? Your hickeys? That's priceless," Finnick laughed. Peeta had to admit, he loved hearing Finnick laugh. They almost lost ever hearing him laugh again. And it was wonderful to hear Katniss laughing and having fun. He loved watching them together. That had a special bond, like he and Johanna had. It was different, but the four of them shared different experiences that bonded them together.

They didn't have to wait long for Johanna to leave the room. Peeta shut the door silently. "She's leaving," Peeta informed them. Finnick jumped off the bed.

"It's showtime," Finnick said and kissed Annie. "We'll be back," he told her as the three of them walked towards the door.

"Try not to torture her too much," Annie told them as the left. They saw her turn down a hall and ran after her.

"Don't be loud," Katniss warned Peeta. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Yeah, you're way too loud even without your metal leg," Finnick said as they watched her turn another corner.

"Thanks guy," he muttered and followed them down to the next corner. His shoes squeaked, making Johanna turn to see what the noise was. They jumped backwards and they glared at Peeta. "I'm sorry,"

"You stay behind us. Stay at least 20 feet away," Finnick ordered him. His eyes widened.

"You can't be serious," Peeta said. Katniss went running down the hall again.

"I'm very serious. Do you wanna catch her or not?" Finnick asked. Peeta scoffed and Finnick turned and went running. Peeta stayed way behind them. His shoes squeaked a few more times, making Katniss and Finnick turn to glare at him. But Johanna was too far away for her to hear Peeta.

They followed her for about ten minutes before they saw her knock on a door and then stand back. A moment later the door opened, and they saw her face light up and she instantly jumped into the room. Ryee had been waiting for her. Finnick went running after her, and Katniss waved Peeta over. He waved her hand for him to walk slow, and he just glared at her.

"You two are being ridiculous," Peeta grumbled.

"You're not ruining me getting revenge on her. Walk slowly," she warned him, and they did. They walked quietly down the hall to where Finnick was waiting, smiling brightly.

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Finnick whispered, rubbing his hands together.

"So, what's the plan? We just knock on the door?" Peeta asked, also in a low voice.

"Give em a few minutes. Then we'll knock on the door," Finnick chuckled. They heard Johanna laugh and all looked at the door. They jumped when they heard someone hit the door, and then Johanna moan. Finnick covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

"Against the door?" Katniss whispered to Peeta. He chuckled at the face Katniss was making and shrugged his shoulders.

He started daydreaming about him and Katniss doing that. He imagined her in a dress. Not like the one Johanna was wearing. Something more like Katniss. Like a sundress. He imagined kissing her so passionately. Both of them desperate for him to be inside of her. He picked her up by the back of her thighs and hoisted her up, making her wrap her legs around his waist and then slamming her back against the door or wall.

He cleared his throat and shook his head before his mind went any further. Nothing like that was going to happen any time soon. They waited for about ten minutes before Finnick knocked on the door. There was instant silence.

"This compartment is unassigned to anyone. You do not have access to this room. You have one minute to vacate the compartment," Finnick called out in a deep voice. The three of them stood with their backs against the wall, shoulder to shoulder.

"Shit," they heard Ryee hiss. They heard a thump.

"Get up," Johanna yelled at him. A moment later Ryee opened the door, trying to pull his shirt on with his shoes in his hand. Both he and Johanna stopped when they saw the three of them. Katniss smiled and waved.

"Hi," Katniss said in a cherry voice.

"Whatcha up to?" Finnick asked.

"I came looking for you because I hear you were supposed to be sleeping in our compartment tonight, like you do most nights of the week when you can't sleep," Peeta laughed. Ryee huffed and yanked his shirt down and started putting on his shoes.

"Lovely," Ryee said.

"Why the hell did you follow me," Johanna said as she straightened out her dress.

"Paybacks a bitch," Katniss said smugly. Johanna rolled her eyes and held up her hands.

"Touché," she conceded. She picked her shoes up and threw them back into the room. "You caught us. Let me just finish sucking him off and we'll go to sleep in my own bed. Lord knows I hate the fucking bed in here. The mattress sucks," Johanna complained. Ryee smiled widely.

"You're over the Goddess huh?" Peeta asked. Ryee laughed.

"Not at all. No one can just stop- "

"Being obsessed?" Peeta interrupted.

"Worshipping a Goddess," Ryee clarified. Finnick burst out laughing while Peeta covered his face with his hand, groaning. Peeta and Ryee were both in love with Goddess's. But they each went about it in a completely different way.

"I think I'll make my way down to Blight's compartment. I'm sure he'll be very interested in this new turn of events. Goodnight, ladies," Finnick said. Johanna went to grab him, but Finnick jumped away from her grasp.

"Damnit Finnick! You asshole!" she yelled at him. But he just laughed at her and turned a corner. She glared over at Katniss. "Are you happy now Katniss?" she asked sarcastically. Katniss smiled and nodded her head.

"Very much," she said, proud of herself. Peeta slid his arm around her waist.

"Come on, let's leave them alone," Peeta said and pulled her away from the door. Leaving Johanna and Ryee to do…whatever dirty thing they were doing.

"That was fun. We're definitely making it to breakfast tomorrow to see how fast that news gets around," she chuckled and leaned into him. He kissed the side of her head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer.

"I wish I could make you laugh every day for the rest of your life," Peeta said. Katniss looked over at him and smiled softly. Her smile made his heart jump.

They walked to the railing and were about to walk around when Katniss stopped. Something had caught her eye. He looked across the open railing (the one looking down to the bottom floor) and saw Gale and Madge looking over the rail a couple floors up. Peeta watched her face for a minute.

"Do you think that could work out?" Katniss asked him without looking away from them. Those old feelings of jealousy about Gale came bubbling up.

"What do you think?" he asked, not knowing what else to say.

"I think it could," she whispered. Peeta watched as Gale smiled and pushed some of Madge's hair off her shoulder that had fallen forward.

"He never smiled like that at me," Katniss whispered.

He cleared his throat. "How would that make you feel if it did work out?" he asked her, fidgeting around. She hadn't taken her eyes off them.

"It would make me feel a lot less guilty that I hurt him. So badly that he couldn't find someone else to love," she said. He smiled at her. Happy. She chose him. He never took that feeling for granted.

"I just want him to be happy. I hope it's her that he ends up with," she looked back to him.

"I think they'd be great together," Peeta said. She smiled at him and nodded her head.

They went back to their compartment and Peeta finally ate his dinner. Tonight, was a good night. He had a good feeling that Katniss would sleep through the night.

They had already taken showers, and they were just settling into bed when their door opened. Johanna and Ryee came in laughing as Ryee wouldn't let Johanna walk by herself without his arms around her stomach. Katniss groaned when they came in.

"God it's like living in a nursing home and they put everyone to bed at 7:30," Johanna said, making Ryee laugh.

"Just because we outed you doesn't mean your welcome to come in here every night. This is my compartment," Peeta told Ryee. Johanna and Ryee just looked at each other and laughed.

"She lives here to. And you have your girlfriend here," Ryee fired back.

"This is her compartment. It was actually hers first," Peeta pointed out. He suddenly wished he could take it all back and not expose their secret. Now Ryee was gonna be here all the time.

He looked over at Katniss while the two of them laughed. "I don't think we thought this through," Peeta complained. Katniss pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I hate her so much," Katniss breathed.

"Here," Johanna said as she threw some of Peeta's sweatpants to Ryee.

"Hey. Uh uh. He's not wearing my clothes," Peeta said as he started to climb over Katniss, but she pulled him to sit back down.

"I have a headache," Katniss said as she started sliding down into the bed, yawning.

"You're not gonna be hanging around here all the time, wearing my clothes, messing with my stuff. You're not gonna be sleeping over every night Ryee. This isn't like we're at home. You're not taking over my compartment," Peeta warned him. Ryee laughed.

"Will you relax. We're just gonna take a shower and go to bed. We both have training at 6:00 in the morning, and we have breakfast at 5:30. So we kinda have to go to sleep. Just don't get your panties all in a twist," Ryee said and shut the bathroom door behind him and Johanna. They heard the shower turn on and then Johanna laughing. Katniss groaned into her hands and turned on her side, facing Peeta.

"This completely backfired," she complained. Peeta nodded and laid down on his side as well, facing her. Ryee was annoying growing up. He loved his older brother, but sometimes he got overwhelming. He was always in Peeta's room, annoying him. Messing with. Scaring him. Harassing him, teasing him. It was typical older brother behavior, but he just never let up.

"I'll deal with him. I'll tell my dad if I have to," he chuckled. Katniss let out a breathy chuckled and wrapped her arm around his waist. Pulling herself closer and burying her face in his chest and taking a deep breath.

"You smell good," she told him as she yawned. He smiled and used his hand to tilt her head up. He leaned down and kissed her softly and rested his forehead against hers. She felt so good in his arms.

He touched his lips back to her, lazily dragging his tongue across her lips. He heard her sigh and she griped him tighter, opening her mouth. He softly pushed his tongue in and met hers. He kissed her slowly and deeply and put his hand on her lower back, pulling her to him. She pushed her hips into him, and his body instantly reacted. He could feel himself harden and he groaned, pulling back slightly.

"You're right. This completely backfired," Peeta chuckled. She groaned and pushed her hips against his.

"I hate her," Katniss whispered. He pushed her hips back slightly and started kissing her again.

He was so lost in this girl that he didn't hear the water shut off. "Looks like someone's plan backfired when they exposed our little secret," Johanna said, making them jump and pull apart. The two of them glaring at her while they both smiled brightly.

"Guess you two won't be getting lucky tonight," Johanna laughed as her and Ryee got into her bed. He was only in his boxers, while she was only in her panties.

"You two aren't fooling around in here," Peeta told them.

"You two aren't fooling around in here. Well, you better not either," Ryee mocked him.

"We don't," Peeta and Katniss said. "They don't," Johanna said at the same time.

"I'm serious Ryee," Peeta warned him. He laughed while Johanna smacked his chest.

"Relax. We won't do anything, I promise," Johanna told him.

Later that night Katniss was moving in her sleep. The movement woke Peeta up and she had started crying. He squeezed her shoulder and gently shook her. "Shhh Katniss it's ok," Peeta told her. She started crying louder.

"Let him go," she cried. Johanna picked her head up when Ryee jumped.

"What the…" He trailed off and looked around. Katniss had let out a scream and sprang up in bed. Peeta wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey shhh. It's ok. I'm right here. It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real," he soothed her, kissing her temple. She was breathing heavy as she held onto him. He knew by now what 'Let him go', meant. Katniss was dreaming about him. Either being tortured in the Capitol, or just whatever her nightmare could whip up for her.

"What's wrong with her?" Ryee asked. Peeta glared at him over her head.

"It's just a small nightmare," Johanna yawned. "At least it wasn't a bad one," Johanna said to Peeta, who just nodded his head.

"That's not a bad one? But she woke up screaming and crying," Ryee said. Johanna elbowed him in the side.

"Shut up," she hissed quietly. She looked back to them. "You ok?" she asked Katniss. She nodded her head. Before Ryee could say anything else, Johanna covered his mouth. At least Ryee wasn't annoying about it. He sounded confused and concerned.

"It's ok. I'm right here. You're safe," he whispered to her.

"Stay with me," she cried softly. So softly he almost didn't hear it. He'd never leave her. Not in a million years. Even if her depression lasted the rest of her life. He'd never leave her.

"Always,"

"Why are you so tired?" Ryee whispered loudly a few hours later, when he and Johanna had to get up.

"Shhh," she hissed at him.

"What? They're asleep," Ryee said. Peeta shook his head softly. He heard Johanna whisper something, but he couldn't make out what it was.

"Peeta's a deep sleeper. Why are you so tired. You're usually only tired because we've been screwing around all night," he chuckled. She hissed again at him. Peeta rolled his eyes. Ryee's whispering was always so loud.

"Will you shut up?" Peeta whispered just as loud. Katniss stirred in his arms but didn't wake up.

"You woke him up," Johanna said and smacked him.

"Ow. How was I supposed to know he'd wake up. Peeta's always slept like he was dead," Ryee said louder. Johanna just threw her arms up and shook her head, making a face at Ryee. "What?" he demanded.

"Are you dumb?" Johanna asked. Ryee was completely clueless. "Let me explain this one more time. When a Victor is sleeping you do everything you can to be quiet and let them sleep as long as they can. Because sleep is a rare luxury we get without nightmares," she snapped at him.

"But you don't get nightmares," Ryee said. Peeta looked up at that. Yes she did.

She reached down and grabbed his shoes, throwing them at him. "Get out!" she snapped.

Peeta was nervous that night. He was worried about Katniss. He had been anxious all day. He had hoped this wouldn't set her off tonight. Revealing that everyone from the 74th and 75th Games were still alive. He never knew what would set her off. What would effect her. But he was praying that this night wasn't one of those times.

"Why can't Katniss introduce them? She's the face of the Rebellion," Coin asked.

"She'll be sitting next to me. She'll be right there with Haymitch, Finnick, Johanna, Beetee and Enobaria. We're doing this together. She doesn't want to speak. She'll chime in when she has to, but I can speak for everyone," Peeta argued. He gave up trying to argue this about speaking. He had thought about it and realized that if Katniss wasn't speaking, he would need to. They were a packaged deal. He was doing this for Panem.

But God, she wouldn't let up on Katniss at all. He hated anyone who pushed her like this. Coin was just relentless. He was the one calling the shots when it came to Katniss. She was his responsibility. And he refused to back down to Coin. He refused to make Katniss do anything that was unnecessary.

"We need to stop arguing. I think we know Peeta's not going to give in Madam President," Plutarch said. Coin was angry and she stomped away. Peeta pinched the bridge of his nose. He had to protect Katniss. Her mental health depended on how well he could protect her.

While everyone was bustling around with last minute things before they went live, Peeta took Katniss' hands. "Are you doing ok?" he asked her. She nodded her head.

"You can tell me if you're not. You don't have to do this," Peeta said as he rubbed her hands with his thumbs. She let out a deep sigh.

"Since when do I not have to do something?" she asked him. She shook her head and looked at the ground. "We both know I don't have a choice. If I don't get on camera…it's letting Snow win. So, I have to do this," she said, still staring at the ground.

He took her in his arms. She was right. She had to go out there. As always, Katniss had no choice. "I'll be next to you the whole time," Peeta told her.

They took their places and sat down, with Katniss in the middle. "You're on," Plutarch said.

"Good evening Panem," Peeta said, looking at the other Victors next to him. "By now you've seen so many Victors on your screens, sharing their stories of their lives as Victors. By now you should all know the horrors…the torture that President Snow put them through," Peeta said, and looked over at Katniss.

"There's a reason why the last person standing is never called a winner…Winning is a privilege. Winning is a reward. We don't win the Games. No one ever wins the Games. There are Victors who lose," Katniss said and squinted her eyes.

"And those are just the Victor's stories. President Snow has done far worse than that to millions of people in Panem. So don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth. He's a liar," Katniss rambled. Haymitch patted her knee to make her stop. She gulped.

"He makes promises that he doesn't keep," Katniss said, ignoring Haymitch. They all eyed each other. "He promised the Victors that when they won the Hunger Games, they were never to be reaped again. But he broke that promise. He knew what was written on that card before he announced it. He forced Plutarch to go down there and switch the cards-"Katniss snapped, making Plutarch drop his clipboard. Johanna laughed.

"Katniss stop," Haymitch hissed. She just glared over at him.

"But we have one secret that good ole Coriolanus Snow didn't know about," Finnick chimed in. Peeta squeezed her hand. He took a deep breath.

"Most of us knew that we were going into the arena…we knew what was written on that card, before President Snow announced it," Peeta said, staring straight at the camera. He saw some of his friends behind the camera, smiling widely at him. They were all excited for this moment. To show Snow that they beat him at his own game.

"Most of us not only knew we were going in, but we formed a plan on how to get out of the arena. Alive…and we all made it out," Peeta said proudly. "We know what's going on through Snow's head right now. He's laughing, because only 6 of us got out," Peeta paused, for dramatic effect. He looked around at the others.

"That's where President Snow is wrong. 24 Victors made it out of that arena," Peeta said, staring at the camera. Everyone who had been in the Quell had started walking in to stand behind the seven of them who were sitting down. Finnick jumped up though, letting Mags sit down. Enobaria even stood up, letting Woof take her seat.

Twenty-four sets of eyes, and Haymitch's, stared dangerously at the camera. Staring directly at Snow! How could Snow top this? He wanted 23 dead Victors. Actually, he wanted all sixty-two Victors dead. He wanted revenge, but they beat him to the punch of firing back when they revealed that he tortured people into thinking that they were Peeta, Johanna and Enobaria.

"Oh, you know he's pissed now," Johanna laughed. "You thought you had us beat, didn't you? Guess the jokes really on you. You should have gone with whatever was on the third quarter quell card instead of giving us a free pass to kick your ass," she laughed, taunting him.

"It gets even better though," Blight sang. They all stood to one side.

"The seventy-fifth Games were not the only Games, that everyone made it out of the arena," Peeta said. And then, to hit Snow in the gut again, the twenty-two other tributes from the 74th Games walked out.

Finnick instantly put his arm around Rue and kissed her cheek. "This girl right here is a precious, innocent little kid who I couldn't adore more. You should really see her bouncing from floor to floor. She can actually swing from the railings," Finnick laughed, making Rue blush.

"It's great to see Snow make an ass out of himself," Enobaria laughed. Johanna put her arm out, palm up and Enobaria slapped her hand, smiling proudly. Haymitch laughed.

"It's finally nice to get one over on Snow," Haymitch said smugly.

"Don't forget about two of Snow's friends," Chaff said laughing and holding his flask up, making Haymitch and a few other held their own flasks up.

Caesar and Seneca came out then. Katniss gasped softly. Peeta had no idea they were going to do that. Katniss' face showed the shock, and he didn't want Snow to see that. He jerked her hand and she looked at him.

"It's ok. They're both alive. Just don't show Snow anything on your face," Peeta whispered. She gulped and nodded her head.

"Caesar is another double in the Capitol. We didn't have time to grab him. But he has been saved and is in hiding. We just can't get him to District 13 just yet. And we saved Seneca," Finnick smiled brightly. Chaff held up his flask.

"This one's for you President Snow," Chaff laughed.

"The Rebels want everyone in Panem to know…we're about living life. We're about saving and protecting our future. We're just kids. I'm 18…Katniss is 17. Rue's only 13 years old. Everyone here were only kids when we were forced to kill other kids. We're here to stop the Hunger Games," Peeta looked over at Katniss and smiled. She took a deep breath.

"The video that gets shown at every Reaping, the last line…'This is how we safeguard our future'…He's not safeguarding our future. We are. Thirteen Districts are saving our future…Snow is evil, and he will stop at nothing until all the Rebels are dead, and we're back to begging the Capitol to feed us," Katniss seethed. Peeta squeezed her hand again, pulling her back in. He was worried about what she would say.

"The next propos that you're gonna see are of all of us. What we've been doing this whole time. Everyone's seen when some of us went to District 12 to show everyone what it looked like. What Panem didn't see, was that I was there to," Peeta said, letting the words sink in.

"You're going to be seeing a lot of footage that has myself, Johanna and Enobaria…plus plenty of footage with everyone standing here who you thought to be dead," Peeta said. Before he could say anything else, Johanna interrupted him.

"Oh by the way, the night of the interviews when all the Victors burst into fire…that was Cinna and Portia," Johanna laughed. Haymitch shushed her, and Peeta turned back to the camera.

"Snow won't beat us. We're already ahead of the Games," Peeta said.

Plutarch yelled cut and the cameras shut off. Katniss let out a deep breath. "You did really well," Peeta said. Katniss snorted.

"Don't lie to her. She was terrible," Johanna said. Peeta glared at her, and Katniss softly smiled at him.

"That's why I like her. She's never afraid to tell me when I'm awful," Katniss said and looked down.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Peeta said and pulled her away. They were about to turn down the hall to their compartment when Katniss stopped. "What's wrong?" she bit her lip.

"Do you mind if…If I stay with Prim tonight?" she asked softly. That wasn't anywhere near what he thought she was gonna say.

"Really?" he asked. She wanted to sleep away from him? "Why?" he whispered. She was all fidgety.

"I just…please don't be mad," she said, looking at the wall behind him.

"Hey. I'm not mad," he told her and picked her hands up and kissed them. "If you wanna stay with Prim tonight, you don't need my permission," he told her and tucked some hair behind her ears. There was something else going on. But he had no idea what it was. But he'd let her have that space. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he told her. She nodded her head and turned down the other hallway. He watched her walk away, and he couldn't figure out what was going on.

She was afraid to sleep on her own. Sleeping with Prim didn't soothe her like it had when they were younger. Before the Hunger Games. Sometimes Peeta could keep her nightmares at bay. But on most nights when he couldn't, he was the only one that could comfort her. It bothered him as to why she left him that night.

He laid in his bed for a few hours before Johanna and Ryee came in. They were laughing, and Peeta could see a shiny flask in her hand. Haymitch had been sharing his liquor. Johanna laughed and then put her hands over Ryee's mouth when she saw Peeta in bed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you guys would be asleep already," Johanna said as she straightened herself up.

"It's just me. Katniss is with her sister. She's gonna sleep over there tonight," Peeta said. Ryee raised an eyebrow while Johanna tilted her head.

"Why's she doing that? Are you guys fighting?" she asked as she came over and sat on her bed. He shook his head.

"She just really wants to be with Prim tonight," Peeta said, looking at Johanna. There was something more there, that Johanna could sense. But it wasn't something that he wanted to talk about in front of Ryee. It wasn't Ryee's world. She cleared her throat and stood up.

"I think I'm just gonna head to bed to. You should get back to your compartment," Johanna said.

"I thought we weren't done celebrating," Ryee said wiggling his eyebrows. Johanna chuckled.

"I'm really tired now. Come on," Johanna said and pushed him out the door. Peeta laid there while Johanna took a shower and got into her bed.

"You don't sleep when you're with Ryee, do you?" Peeta asked, still staring up at the ceiling.

"What?" she asked. He turned his head to look at her.

"You stay awake when you're with him. You don't want him to know how bad your nightmares are," Peeta said. She just stared at him. It was true. It made sense now.

Whenever she would be out with Ryee, she'd always come back tired the next morning. He just chalked it up to being up all-night having fun. But the night he slept in their compartment for the first time and Ryee acted like he hadn't seen a Victor have a nightmare he knew…she hadn't slept with him there.

Johanna laid on her back looking up at the ceiling and just let out a deep breath. She didn't need to say anything. Peeta knew.

Katniss had met Peeta for breakfast the next morning, and he knew by the look on her exhausted face that she didn't get any sleep. "Awe sweetheart," he said and kissed her cheek.

"Did you get any sleep?" he asked her. She shook her head as he grabbed both their trays and brought them to the table and sat down. "Eat something. It'll make you feel better," Peeta said. She smiled sadly at him and played around with her food. She looked around the cafeteria at everyone.

"They look so happy," Katniss said. Peeta looked around. He didn't think that they looked overly happy. They all looked normal. They were just going about their day.

"I wish I could be like them…just another person to fade into the background. Just being another face in the crowd that not everyone knows my name. Just a nameless person. They don't know how lucky they are," Katniss said monotonously. He let out a long sigh and put his arm around her shoulder and brought her to him and kissed the top of her head.

"It's almost over," he said. What else could Peeta say? "Come on. I'm not hungry either. Why don't you try and get some sleep," he said, standing up and pulling her along with him.

Katniss had slept for a little bit, but then went walking later on. Peeta was worried about where she had been disappearing to. She was wanting to be alone lately and that scared him. He thought about following her so many times, but he knew he couldn't. He was terrible at trying to follow someone. He was too loud. And then she would be upset when she would catch him. If only he could figure out what was going on in her head.

He was eating lunch he and was in his own world. He hadn't noticed that the empty table that he had sat down at was now full of his family and friends.

"What's got you so spaced out?" Thresh asked. Peeta shook his head. Katniss is why he was so spaced out.

"I jut didn't sleep well last night," Peeta said, scrubbing his face.

"Well with Johanna and your brother in the same room I wouldn't either," Marlah joked. Peeta rolled his eyes at just thinking about that.

"No, he wasn't there. It was just one of those nights," Peeta said. It was something that every Victor could understand. He looked down the table and saw Rue. She was blushing as Justin from District 4 smiled at her.

He shook his head as he remembered watching on stage after he and Katniss won, how he died in their Games. He hated when that happened. He wished he could erase those memories from his head. But they looked sweet together. And then Prim and Rory sat down with them. He had seen the four of them hanging out. It was cute to watch them. They were young without a care in the world, even during this war.

He saw his brother Wheet, with Thresh's sister, Theresa. It was nice to see his brother smile. He had never smiled at a girl like that before. He was supposed to marry the Tailor's daughter, and Peeta knew how miserable that made his brother. But seeing him sitting next to a girl that he chose…it was something that made his heart feel a little better. His brother was getting a choice on who to marry.

Then he watched Gale and Madge. He had been seeing them together more and more. Peeta was relieved that Gale was finally moving on. He was going slow about it. But he was still moving forward in his life.

He startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Haymitch. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked up. Something was wrong. "What happened now?" Peeta asked. Haymitch turned to Gale.

"Gale. You and Peeta, come with me," Haymitch said gravely. Peeta and Gale looked at each other worriedly. This wasn't good. He just knew it.

The two of them followed Haymitch down to Command and sat down. The typical gang was there. Plutarch, Finnick, Cinna and Beetee..

"What's wrong now?" Peeta asked tiredly. Everyone just looked at each other. Cinna was the one to speak first after taking a deep breath.

"About two hours ago, Snow retaliated against revealing what he did to the Doppelgangers, and saving everyone from the past two Games," Cinna said, avoiding looking at them. Peeta and Gale just looked at each other.

"What does this have to do with just me and Gale?" Peeta asked. He was keeping his thoughts behind a brick wall. He was too afraid to think of what this meant. He didn't even care about what it would do to him. What it would mean to him. He was afraid that this could break Katniss. This was a bad idea. None of this was a good idea.

"What did he do?" Gale asked.

"Let them see it for themselves," Haymitch said. Plutarch used the remote to turn the tv on.

"We all remember in the 74th Games, when the Capitol went to District 12 to meet Katniss and Peeta's families," Caesar said.

Clips of their family and friends being interviewed flashed across the screen.

"Remember Katniss Everdeen's cousin?" Caesar asked. A picture of Gale.

Peeta whipped his head to look at Gale. Gale was too stunned to move. Peeta knew exactly where this was going.

"Well. Gale Hawthorne is not, Katniss Everdeen's cousin," Caesar said as pictures of Katniss and Gale kissing appeared on screen.

"We knew Katniss and Peeta as the 'Star-crossed lovers'. But were they really?" Caesar asked?

Peeta listened to a bunch of fake conversations that everyone had for Snow to listen to.

"Katniss, I don't want to play this game. I've already played a game with you and came out with egg all over my face. So, if there's something you'd like to say to me, then please say it. Or just let me go and we can continue avoiding each other," Peeta said.

"Why are you so mad at me today?" Katniss demanded. Gale spun around.

"Do you even see what you're wearing? Look what they've turned you into," Gale snapped at her.

"What does it matter what I'm wearing? Reporters come here all the time. If they see me- "

"If they see you in what, poor people's clothes?" Gale demanded. Her mouth fell open.

"How can you say that me? You know that is not how I feel. You know me Gale!"

"I thought I knew you. But the girl who came back was The Girl on Fire! One of the Star-Crossed lovers!"

"You know I had to do that with Peeta to survive the Games," Katniss told him, her voice catching.

"You didn't have to do that. You chose to," Gale told her. But before she could respond, Gale lunged forward and grabbed her, kissing her hard on the lips. Before she had time to respond, it was over.

"Tell me you felt nothing, and I'll never mention it again. I'll do a toast at your wedding. You just have to tell me," Gale said.

"I found some blueberries for you. I know how much you love them," she said, holding them out for her. Peeta stared at her hand for a while and then looked up.

"Did you pick them? Or did Gale?" Peeta asked. Katniss just stared at him. "It's fine that you don't love me. Ok? I get it. You saved my life. I'm forever in your debt. But it's not like I did something to hurt you. You don't have to flaunt your relationship with him in front of me," Peeta told her. Katniss shook her head.

"I'm not flaunting- "

"You're making out with him right over there," Peeta said, pointing down the road where her and Gale were.

"Right where I can see. I don't care who you're with Katniss. But I'm not such a terrible person that you have to rub it in my face. I get it. You don't love me," Peeta said and shut the door.

That hurt watching it. The look on her face. It killed him right now.

"Nice acting," Peeta said sadly.

"You to,"

"I almost thought that kiss was real. But I'm not Gale," Peeta said sadly and then walked away, leaving Katniss standing there. Haymitch shook his head as he walked by her.

You might as well have a little fun with her, since your girlfriend doesn't want to have fun," Haymitch said.

"You know I would never do that," Peeta told him.

"Peeta you and I both know that she's with Gale. You saw her kissing him with your own eyes. Why don't you have some fun for once," Haymitch said. Peeta slammed his hand down.

"I don't wanna fool around with Johanna. Or any girl for that matter," Peeta snapped at him.

"Peeta. You have to stop letting yourself be hurt by her. She's not going to change," Haymitch told him.

"That boy loves you. He drops everything for you. And you make out with your boyfriend in front of his damn Bakery," Haymitch said.

"He told you?" Katniss asked softly.

"Of course, he did. You got some nerve treating him like this. You let him into your bed every night, to chase away your nightmares. But the second you go home; you'll drop him again and go right back to your boyfriend. Then when the cameras are there, you're all in love with him again. Giving him fake affection. Yeah, that doesn't sound like a self-centered bitch at all," Haymitch said.

"Fine then. I won't let him into my room anymore. Are you satisfied?" she demanded. He scoffed.

"Do whatever you want. But stop hurting him. He's a good man. And he deserves a lot more than you," Haymitch told her.

"Instead of being in love you two sound like you're reciting from a drilling manual. You sound like robots up there. Every single damn speech,"

"You try reading that stuff that Effie writes us," Peeta said

"Tell that to President Snow when you see him 16 days from now," Haymitch raised his voice.

"We're open to suggestions," Peeta said.

"We could get married," Katniss said. Haymitch choked on his drink.

"That's not helping," he said sarcastically.

"I'm serious. If like you said were on this train ride forever, then it's going to happen eventually. Why not now?" Katniss asked. Haymitch let out a breathy chuckle.

"It's does make a statement. I'll give you that," Haymitch told her.

"Yeah. Sure. Let's do it," he said sadly and got up and walked down to his room.

"Leave him alone,"

"I thought this is what he wanted?" Katniss snapped back at him.

"Not like this. He loves you Katniss. He wanted this to be real. He wants a life with you. He doesn't want a life with a person who doesn't love him. Who was forced to marry him. Who's in love with someone else. Can't you get it through your head? Why don't you get to know him? Why can't you see that he loves you. If you got Gale out of your damn head, then you could have a real life with that boy," Haymitch told her off, and then left.

Peeta could tell that some of these were being messed with a little. Anything to make Snow seem innocent and make them look like they were the villains. That only they were lying.

This kept going and going and going. So many fake conversations, out there for all of Panem to see or hear. Snow cut out little things about how he was watching them, or that they had to settle down the Districts. This was all about making them look bad.

But then it took a completely different turn. Snow appeared on screen.

"Katniss Everdeen has lied to you, as she did to me about her feelings for Peeta Mellark. While he was in love with her, waiting for her to show him any bit of affection, she was in a relationship with Gale Hawthorn the whole time," Snow said.

And then what appeared on screen made Peeta cover his hands with his mouth. It was a shiny image. He remembered this image. He put together these same videos, of Katniss and Gale having sex. He wouldn't watch it. He couldn't. These were shiny memories.

He turned his chair and bent over. They were shiny. They were shiny memories.

"Turn it off," Haymitch snapped and bent over in front of Peeta. "It's not real Peeta. You can tell they're fake because it's shiny," Haymitch reminded him. Peeta couldn't breathe.

"It's the same one. It's the same one he showed me when they had me," Peeta panted.

"Peeta breathe ok. You're having a panic attack," Finnick said as he bent down next to Haymitch. He could feel the venom in his veins. He was being hijacked. He was going to lose himself again. He wouldn't be able to tell what was real and what was fake anymore. He could feel the hot branding iron on his skin.

"Oh God," Peeta said and jumped, trying to get the branding iron off of his skin. Haymitch and Finnick grabbed him.

"Peeta stop it. It's not real," Haymitch told him, shaking him.

"Breathe Peeta. Open your eyes and look around. Tell me what you see," Finnick said. Peeta tried opening his eyes, but he closed them again. "No. Open them back up and tell me what you see," Finnick demanded.

He opened his eyes and tried to control his breathing. He told them everything he saw until he slowly felt his heart beating back to normal. He felt in control of his breathing. They let him go and he slumped in his chair, leaning his arms on the table and digging his fists into his eyes.

"Was that really what they showed you?" Gale asked. Peeta looked at him. Gale hadn't moved. He was still staring at the tv. Peeta nodded.

"He created the same videos of when they hijacked me," he said. Gale just nodded his head. He wanted the images out of his head. He could still smell the room down in the Capitol. The torture floor as Johanna used to call it.

"So, what do we do?" Gale asked.

"We're gonna have to go live tonight. Tell them the real version of these events," Plutarch said. Peeta groaned and shook his head.

"You two. Even me…and Katniss," Haymitch said. Peeta groaned into his hands. This was probably gonna set her off.

"He's attacked you first…but he's making propos of his own. About a bunch of us…yours is the worst though," Finnick said, looking down.

"He's going to show videos of all the Victors having sex, partying, doing drugs. He's going to make it seem like we're the animals, and we enjoyed ourselves," Haymitch said. Peeta knew Haymitch didn't do any of that. But he knew Haymitch has had sex with some of the Victors. Johanna even. Snow would probably use those. But Peeta also knew that Haymitch had never slept with anyone from the Capitol.

"We never should have done what we did. We should have just saved our little twins and hid what Snow had done to them. We should have waited until the war was over to reveal that no one died. Because now she has to get up there sacrifice her sanity so everyone can have their freedom," Peeta yelled the last word as he slammed his hand against the table. He pushed his chair back and went looking for Katniss.

This is when her disappearing acts crossed over from harmless, to detrimental. He spent the next two hours looking for her. No one had seen her, and he was terrified she was just hiding under someone's bed. He eventually found her in the hallway.

"Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you," he asked her. She moved around uncomfortably.

"I've been walking around," she lied. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd have to figure this out with her. He'd have to figure out what was happening now. And why he wasn't able to help her.

"I…Snow reacted to all our videos. And we have to respond," Peeta told her. Katniss just stood there. She showed no emotion.

"What if I don't want to?" she whispered. They just stared at each other. She was the first to break eye contact. "What if I don't want to do any of this anymore?" she asked, looking down at the ground.

What could he say to that? He wished they didn't have to do any of this anymore. He wanted nothing to do with this war anymore. He was done with it…but they couldn't be done with it.

"I think you've said it best yourself," Peeta said, making her look back up at him. "We've never had a choice," Peeta told her. She looked exhausted. He knew he did as well. But he held his hand out for her. She put her hand in his. "But we have each other. And we'll just…get through it together,"

She leaned forward and they hugged. He felt like they were just going through the motions together. Like they were numb. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"What did he do?" Katniss asked. Peeta sighed and pulled back.

"Made a video of you and Gale. He heard all those fake conversations and arguments about us not being together and of you guys kissing…" he trailed off and looked down.

"What else did he do?" she asked warily. He scrubbed his face and then met her eyes.

"He made a fake video of you and Gale being intimate together," her face was emotionless. "It's shiny. And it just happens to be the exact same one that he made for me to think that you were with Gale the entire time last time," Peeta told her. He didn't like her reaction to all this. Or lack of reaction. It terrified him.

"Come with me," he said and pulled on her elbow. He led her down a few floors to where all their compartments were. He brought them passed their compartment to knock on Cenia's door. When she opened it, she didn't seem surprised. She smiled sadly.

"Cinna told me what happened. Are you two ok?" she asked. Peeta looked at Katniss.

"I'm not. But I don't know about her," Peeta said. Katniss just looked at him strangely. Cenia opened her door for to them to walk through and sit at the table.

"Are you just feeling numb to it all now?" Cenia asked. Both Katniss and Peeta nodded their heads, and Katniss looked down at her hands. He'd give anything to know what was going on in her head.

"You shouldn't be surprised if she starts having different reactions to these things," Cenia told Peeta one day. "She might be screaming and crying now. But then she may just pull herself back from it all, so it doesn't hurt. She might just feel numb,"

Peeta realized what Cenia was asking. Katniss may be crawling into the hole she was in when she came home from the Capitol and she…the room was spinning. Was this what she was doing? Was this why she was disappearing all the time? Was she trying to kill herself.

But something brought him out of his panic thoughts. Katniss was crying. He shook his head. When did she start crying? Why was she crying. God he was terrible. He was so deep in his own head that he was ignoring her.

"How do we just sit there and tell everyone that we were lying? This completely backfired on us. No one's ever going to believe us now. And now there's some fake sex tape of me. I had to lie…" she trailed off and just put her head in her hands.

"Who said you were lying before?" Cenia asked. It took Katniss a moment before she looked up in confusion. Peeta was also confused.

"What?" she asked.

"You didn't lie to anyone. Neither of you did," Katniss and Peeta just stared at each other.

"Yes, we did. We told them we were already married and were having a baby. We lied," Katniss cried. Peeta put his arm around her and kissed her head. At least she wasn't retreating into herself. She was feeling something.

"That's where you're wrong. You're not lying if they make you lie," Cenia told them. They just stared at her. "You were forced to lie to keep your friends and family safe. He made you say those things. Put the blame where it should be," Cenia said. They looked at each other again, and Cenia softly chuckled.

"I don't know why you're taking responsibility of this. What you did was to protect and save people. What he's doing is so he can be in control, and torture people. Don't take that weight on either of your shoulders," Cenia said, waving her hand.

It was that simple. Don't let Snow make them shoulder the blame. Put it right back on him!

Later that night, Katniss was with Cinna and her prep team getting ready. Peeta was just waiting for her when he looked across the open railing and saw Gale and Madge walk out of a room and go separate ways. He could tell all the way from over there, that Madge was crying.

He watched Gale with no emotion on his face, walk into the Command room. Peeta took that moment to go see if he could find Madge. He didn't have to look far, she was sitting in a small little hallway on a bench, crying.

Peeta sat down with her, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She wiped at her tears.

"He'll never feel for me the way he feels for Katniss," Madge says. Peeta looks down at her.

"No matter what, I'll always be second to her. He'll never love me as much as he loved Katniss," Madge said into her hand. She turned her head and cried onto Peeta's shoulder.

"I don't believe that" he said. She pulled back and looked at him. "Even if that is the case, then you weren't meant to be with Gale," he told her softly.

It still hurt for her to hear it and she scooted an inch away. He let her go. It wasn't something easy to hear someone say. It's what everyone always told him about Katniss.

"He's never had one moment to truly get over her. He couldn't move on because he had to pretend to be in a relationship with her. Maybe there are still some feelings. But it's nowhere near as bad as it was when we all first came back," Peeta said. Madge just looked at him.

"He's changed. And he needs to be able to push Katniss aside before he can open himself up to another person, and he's never been allowed to. He's been stuck in this spot of pretending to be Katniss' forbidden boyfriend…but it's all out now. Once he does this, it's all out there that they're not in love," he said, letting the words sink in for her.

"After tonight, he doesn't have to pretend anymore. He can start to heal. I think he's been trying to heal this whole time, but the war didn't let him. So now, he finally can. And if you can just be patient and wait a minute for his heart to heal…I think what you'll find there is someone who loves you more than he ever thought he loved Katniss Everdeen," Peeta told her. Madge's eyes widened.

"Now you're just trying to make me feel better," she said and scooted away from him more.

"No, I'm not. I'm being serious," he told her. She wiped at her face. "I've seen the way he looks at you. Me and Katniss both have. And it's different from how he's looked at Katniss before," he told her, making her look at him.

"You know how everyone from the Seam is. And you know how Katniss and Gale are. They never loved each other," Peeta said. She gave him the dumbest look, and he just laughed.

"Don't listen to me. It's fine…but Katniss never wanted to get married. Gale wanted to get married…but he wasn't thinking of her before the Games happened. But in the Seam…so many people just get married because they have to. Gale was just protecting that after the Games…and somewhere along the way, everything got screwed up with them," Peeta said and looked down at the floor. He couldn't believe that those words were actually coming out of his mouth. But it was the truth though. He just never realized it till now.

"Madge…the way he looks at you…I've never seen him look at Katniss like that before. I wouldn't lie to you about that," Madge looked away and let a tear fall down her cheek.

"I think he really cares about you. He's just never had time to himself to be able to figure it out," he told her. She looked back at him. "Just be patient with him. If you really love him, then he'll be worth the wait," he told her.

"You really think he loves me?" she asked. He nodded his head.

"Yeah. I do…and so does Katniss," he told her. She smiled and gave her a hug.

He went back into Command and waited for Katniss. Haymitch, Gale and himself were already mic'd up and ready to go. Finnick was giving Peeta and Gale the run down of some of the other videos Snow released.

"Alexa Junker's is pretty bad," Finnick said sadly and looked down at his hands.

"What happened to her?" Peeta asked. Alexa was the Morphling from District 6 that saved him in the Quarter Quell.

"Alexa didn't want to go on screen about her time in the Capitol. So, Snow went ahead and went after her anyways," Haymitch said.

"He made her look like she was a party animal. Took a lot of drugs and just partied too hard," Finnick said, shaking his head.

"Alexa was really pretty back then. And we all know what happens to good looking Victors…she had it worse though," Haymitch said, clearing his throat and looking at the table. Peeta could only imagine where this was going.

"She wouldn't agree to sleeping with someone. So, Snow had them take her forcefully. She was only 15," Haymitch said sadly. Peeta and Gale's mouths dropped open in disgust.

"He liked to mess with her head. She had said no that first time, and she spit in Snow's face, so he killed her sister. She refused a second time, at her mother's request, but Snow killed her mother. It was like a fun little game to him. She tried to kill herself over and over again. But Snow kept cameras in her house. There were Peacekeepers stationed outside of her house so they could get in at any time and she couldn't run away or kill herself,"

Every time Peeta thought he heard the sickest thing Snow did, he was proven wrong again. She had been brave though. She spit in Snow's face.

"Alexa's entire family ended up being killed. And she started taking Morphling. She wasn't pretty to the Capitol anymore. So, Snow had no use for her. But he still loved to bring her out all the time. And any time she's in the Capitol…" Haymitch trailed off. He couldn't talk anymore.

"He gives her to the Peacekeepers while she's there," Finnick said sadly. Peeta's mouth fell.

"They rape her?" Peeta whispered. Finnick nodded his head.

"They've been doing it for years. Every year in the Capitol during the Games…he brings some Peacekeepers and anyone who's willing to pay to watch, or play gets to see all these men rape her. Over and over again…it's her punishment," Haymitch said, not wanting to look up.

Peeta's blood stopped moving. Had Snow come to Katniss, and she refused…she could have been the one that was raped. God, he and Katniss were so sheltered and naïve to how truly evil Snow really was with Victors. It made him sick.

"Is Alexa gonna say anything?" Gale asked.

"We're attempting to go as long as we can without her finding out," Beetee said as he played around with some computer equipment. "She has the mental state that Katniss does. If we can shield her from the truth for a while…we will," he said and went back to his tinkering. That made Peeta feel very small. Everyone was always so focused on Katniss because she was the face of the Rebellion. But what about everyone else? What about their pain?

"Hey, Girl on Fire," Haymitch joked as Katniss walked in with Cinna and Effie behind her. Katniss softly rolled her eyes and sat in between Peeta and Gale. Haymitch sat on the other side of Peeta. Cressida started getting a mic on Katniss.

"You gonna be ok to do this?" Peeta asked her. She looked over and shrugged her shoulders.

"It doesn't matter if I am," she said softly.

"It does matter if you're gonna be ok. It matters to everyone in this room," Peeta told her. Katniss looked up from her hands and let out a deep breath. She nodded her head and leaned into him.

"If you guys get stuck, just look to me. I can move us around a little by throwing in some questions here and there. Just stick to the topics that we talked about," Cressida told them and sat on her stool next to the camera. Everyone nodded their heads. Cressida put her thumb up when they were live.

"Good evening again. Everyone knows me, and everyone knows my friends right here," Peeta said, referring to Katniss, Haymitch and Gale.

"President Snow was angry when we revealed some of his secrets. As he should be. The Panem that didn't know who Snow really was, are finding out who he is. And he's becoming desperate…One thing Snow is very good at, is taking something and twisting it into whatever he wants, for his own gain. He's made videos to put a lot of Victors in precarious situations. He's spun them for his need. The other Victors will be getting their chance to explain their side, or explain what you're seeing. As the four of us will explain the video that Snow made regarding Katniss' relationship between her and I…and her and Gale," Peeta said. He looked over at Katniss.

"But first and foremost. The video that you saw of her and Gale being intimate, is not a real video," he said, pausing to squeeze Katniss' hand. She was looking down and refused to look up. "The video has this glossy, shiny quality to it. That means that it was fabricated. The only videos that have this quality, are the ones that show all of us in a terrible situation. One that makes us all look bad. So, don't be fooled by this. The only videos that you'll see shiny are the ones he manipulated," He turned back to her then. She was nervous. But he gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. She looked back at the camera.

"Gale isn't my cousin. I met Gale when I was 12 years old. And he was 14. We met out in the woods after…" Katniss trailed off. Gale jumped right in to help her.

"Both of our fathers had died in the same Mining accident. Another gift from Snow. Putting miners in dangerous zones that collapse. We met in the woods because both of us were trying to keep our families alive," Gale said and looked back to her.

"Me and Gale have always been best friends. When I was in the top 8, Snow sent the cameras to visit District 12 to interview our family and friends. Because me and Peeta were the star-crossed lovers, the residents of District 12 knew that if they showed Gale as anything other than my family, that our families would be in danger," Katniss said and looked down at her hands.

"Snow wanted everyone to believe that what happened between Katniss and myself in the Games was a lie. So…we're going to put this rumor to rest," Peeta said and looked at Katniss.

"Katniss and I were never, star-crossed lovers. Plain and simple. That was never us. But everything I said about her was the truth. I loved her since I was 5 years old. Katniss didn't feel the same way. But Snow spun that into she hated me. Which she never did," Peeta said, looking down at Katniss, smiling softly at her.

"Basically, he took a stubborn 16-year-old, bigmouthed girl and forced her to lie saying she was desperately in love with the boy just so she could save him. She couldn't just save him because she did know Peeta. And she did care for him. Because they do have history before the Games," Haymitch defended them. Katniss glared at him for the comment. Haymitch just smiled at her.

"It's our history," both Peeta and Katniss said at the same time. The looked at each other and Peeta smiled. Katniss said it angrier than he did. But they still said it.

"Oh God, now they're finishing each others sentences," Johanna said loud enough that the camera picked up on it. Finnick couldn't help it and laughed.

"And when I say this, Katniss nor I mean any disrespect," he looked down linked his hand with hers, picking up from under the table so the camera could see. "We are together," he said and looked back at the camera.

"But it's our business what we are. We control our own relationship, and we're happy to be going at our own pace. It's finally ours. We're not Star-Crossed Lovers. We're not engaged, and we're not married. We're just happy," he said.

"God I'm so sick of him being all sappy and calling her his girlfriend. Johanna finally got Katniss to admit that he's her boyfriend," Ryee laughed. Everyone shush him.

"Get him out of here," Coin hissed. Peeta closed his eyes and shook his head. His brother had the biggest mouth. He couldn't whisper to save his life. He had always been like this. Though…his brother was alive. And he was suddenly appreciative that he had the opportunity to get mad at his brother.

It was Gale's turn to talk. He took a deep breath and looked at the camera. Gale wanted nothing to do with talking on camera. He hated this. But, as always, they didn't have a choice!

"We knew the whole time what was going to happen. We planned everything…the kissing was all planned. Completely faked," Gale said. Peeta watched something change in Gale. The way he said that..it sounded like…relief.

Gale finally got to say the words he had wanted to say for so long. It was something that he needed to say out loud. To make it real. He needed to move on. And Peeta saw it. Not only did Gale need to move on, but Gale wanted to move on. Peeta moved his eyes to look at Katniss. She had a soft look on her face. It mirrored Gale's face. She was relieved. Katniss needed to hear this to.

Gale looked over at Katniss. "Katniss is my best friend. Since I was 14 years old. She'll always be my best friend," Gale said and turned back to the camera. "She's not more than that. No matter what Snow wants you to believe," Gale said with a little bit of that anger that Katniss had.

"He's showed you videos, and recorded conversations. But he edited it to his own advantage. And we'll show you the truth," Peeta said.

"Haymitch, I brought you Cinnamon rolls. You don't have to throw things at my door. I get it," Peeta said and stopped in the kitchen when he saw her. "Hi Katniss," Peeta said, uncomfortably. She gulped.

"Hi Peeta," she said awkwardly. Peeta stared at her for a moment, but then went about the kitchen getting plates and silverware.

"I brought your shoes back Haymitch. But your phones broken. I called Effie and told her to send you another one. You really don't have to throw anything at my front door in the middle of the night. I was sleeping,"

"Would you like a Cinnamon roll Katniss?" he asked without turning around.

"No. But thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," he told her. He turned around and handed a plate to Haymitch. He walked over and hugged Katniss and softly kissed her on the lips. He hugged her tightly and kissed her neck. He pulled back and smiled at her.

"I'm just going to get going," Peeta said and patted Haymitch on the shoulder. "Katniss," he said and smiled at her before he walked back out.

Katniss stared as Peeta walked out.

"Well go and follow him. Give the kid something," Haymitch said. Katniss got up and followed him.

"Peeta," she said. He turned around in front of his house and she caught up to him.

"Yes?" he asked. She stood in front of him. Not knowing what to say. She opened her mouth a few times, but then shut it again.

He didn't need to act…but he did it for Katniss to make it easier for her to do the acting

"I wanted to just see how you were doing," she said. She turned her head and made a face. Peeta smiled at her.

She knew he was mocking her. She was terrible at this. But he was so proud of her.

"I'm doing very well. Thank you for asking," he said and squeezed her hand. Then he turned to walk into his house.

"Peeta wait," she said. He turned back around.

"Katniss, I don't want to play this game. I've already played a game with you and came out with egg all over my face. So, if there's something you'd like to say to me, then please say it. Or just let me go and we can continue avoidin each other," Peeta said and kissed her and walked back into her house.

Snow only played what he had said to her at the end. They went through everything that Snow had played. He was a little surprised when they showed a camera in the train. He didn't know there were any. He looked at Katniss and Haymitch, and they were surprised as well.

Then they showed the time that Katniss waited until the camera went down so Snow couldn't watch them, and then ran to the back of the Bakery. The video showed her going there for dinner for Peeta's birthday. He started blushing as he remembered that night, and Katniss' face mirrored his. How much had District 13 seen of them?

They showed when Gale was whipped, and they brought him back to Katniss' house. How he wasn't hurt at all. How they tore the protective film on his back. How he went home. They showed the inside of Hazelle's house and it showed Gale with an allergic reaction to it.

They showed Katniss going into the woods and going back through the fence when it was supposed to be on. Running to the bakery and watching her, Ryee and Wheet hang out. Talking and laughing. It showed her walking around and how she fell and then went back home.

They showed when Katniss got drunk, and Peeta and Gale were fighting. Katniss was holding onto Peeta, and he and Gale were pretending to fight. Gale had his arms crossed and was looking the other way. He looked upset, but couldn't bare it to look at him and Katniss.

Katniss and Peeta walking past the fence together.

Katniss and Peeta on the couch and he was tickling her.

During the snowstorm when they covered all the mics.

Katniss and Peeta kissing.

Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch getting together and talking through the plans of what was next.

Peeta playing the piano for her.

All of these moments were captured on camera. How much did they see? We're there cameras in their bedrooms? Their bathrooms? Had they watched as Peeta explained sex to Katniss? Or when they were in bed being intimate? The time in Katniss' bathroom. Did they have cameras in their compartment?

They thought some of these moments were private. Were there's. But even in those times, their lives were never there's. Peeta worried about the look on Katniss' face. She wasn't going to deal with this well at all.