Peeta hadn't meant to fall asleep. He'd planned to stay awake and watch over Katniss the entire night. But he was startled awake by heavy footsteps and a metal key being shoved into the lock.

"Captain Mellark," someone said and his eyes shot open. Two Peackeepers hovered over him. He could see another making his way into Katniss's cell.

"What's happening?"

"General Thread has arrived and is asking to speak to the prisoner. He needs the paperwork for her sentencing, sir."

"I… I haven't completed it. Tell him… shit,... tell him I'll be right there."

"Yes sir." The Peacekeeper gently shook Katniss awake and she gasped and jerked back, knocking her head against the wall.

"Move, soldier," Peeta said angrily, entering the cell. He grasped his wife's hand and his other hand cradled her head.

"General Thread wants to speak to you for a moment. I'll be right there, ok?" Her eyes shone with fear but she nodded, keeping her expression neutral. Peeta dropped her hand and nodded to the peacekeepers.

"Cuff her and take her to General Thread's office. Wait for me there." He shoved past the peacekeepers and down the hall toward his office. His secretary jumped out of the way as he pushed the door opened and disappeared through it. He went to his desk and grabbed the paperwork that bore Katniss's name. He took his pen, and with a deep breath, crossed something out and wrote a few lines. He exhaled and placed his palms on the desk, lifting his face to the ceiling.


He tucked the paperwork under his arm and made his way toward Thread's office. But the door was standing wide open and the office was empty. No peacekeeper stood in the hallway, nor was there anyone in the cells. Dread settled over him like a thick blanket as he ran to his secretary's desk.

"Miss Carter, where did they take Ka-the prisoner?"

"General Thread took her outside, Captain." Peeta moved so quickly he nearly slipped on the floor. He ran outside and saw a crowd had gathered in front of the whipping post.

The papers slipped from his hand as he registered two things: one, that Katniss had been bound to the post, her hands tugged over her head and two, Thread stood behind her in his pristine white uniform, raising a heavy whip over his head.

"STOP!" He rushed forward, blocking Katniss's body with his own.

"Soldiers," he snapped to the side and two huge peacekeepers surged forward, gripping Peeta's arms. They dragged him away from Katniss, Peeta kicking and screaming her name. Tears streamed down her cheeks at the first lash. When the whip met her skin for the third time, she cried out. People stood around, shaking their heads and muttering. Peeta managed to free himself from the first peacekeeper and he punched the second so hard he fell backwards. He rushed toward Katniss again and was met with the barrel of Thread's gun.

"I suggest you start following orders, Captain Mellark."

"You need to read the paperwork, General. You left the sentencing to me. I sentence her to ten lashes, the standard for poaching. And I accept the crime as my own. So the sentence is transferred to me." Thread's eyes narrowed and he snapped his fingers at one of the soldiers. The peacekeeper scrambled forward, holding his bleeding nose, and grabbed the papers from the ground before they could blow away. He handed them to his General and Thread's eyes scanned the paper. He spat to the side and folded the papers up.

"You're a fool, Mellark." Peeta said nothing, only lifting his chin defiantly. People muttered from the sidelines.

"Lieutenant Nerezza!" The Peacekeeper from the Capitol swaggered forward, giving Peeta an evil grin.

"Unchain the prisoner. Secure the Captain in her place." Nerezza and Cadmar quickly unchained Katniss and tossed her aside.

"Katniss!" Peeta dropped to his knees at her side, lifting her head. She blinked up at him, her lips bleeding from biting them from the pain.

"Peeta… don't…don't do this..." The soldiers grabbed Peeta by the arms and dragged him away from his wife. They ripped the shirt from his back and chained his wrists to the post. He hung his head while Thread walked around him.

"Twenty lashes is the new standard for poaching," he said loudly, addressing the crowd. "Officer Cadmar, you will carry out the sentence."

"Yes sir, General," Cadmar's smug tone made Peeta want to vomit.

"Captain Peeta Mellark, you are charged with poaching on Capitol land and stealing from the Capitol of Panem. How do you plead?"

"Peeta please," Katniss whimpered from his left.

"Guilty, General Thread," Peeta said in a hollow voice.

"The prisoner pleads guilty. Twenty lashes is the punishment. Officer Cadmar, proceed." It was pain beyond anything he had ever experienced. He grit his teeth and was determined not to make a sound but he felt his flesh being ripped from his bones. Cadmar barely waited between lashes, making the pain all blur together. Then he would pause and give Peeta a brief respite, only to feel agony all over again. He lost count after ten and felt himself about to pass out. This was worse, much worse, than anything Haemon had done to him. After awhile, he heard Katniss scream.

"Stop! Stop, that's more than 20! Stop it! You're killing him!" The lashes continued until he heard Thread's voice ordering Cadmar to cease. It was way more than 20 lashes on his back. Peeta's vision was blurred and his head felt fuzzy.

"Get him out of here," he heard Thread telling someone. His wrists were bleeding from the manacles and once they were opened, he dropped to the ground, unable to support himself in any way. Katniss stroked his hair and lifted his shoulders.

"We have to get him to my mother."

"There's no way to lift him. Dad, can you-?"

"He's too strong for me to carry. Peeta? Can you hear us, son?"

"Maybe this will help." Katniss looked up to see several miners coming forward with a large board, her old hunting partner leading the group.

"Gale?"

"Come on, Katniss. You need to get cleaned up too." He pulled her to her feet and Bran moved forward to steady her.

"But, Peeta-"

"We will take care of him," Gale said gently. "Thom, help me lift him up so we can slide the board under him. Peeta? You have to stay awake, ok? Katniss. Talk to him." She knelt next to him and squeezed his hand.

"Peeta? Can you hear me?" He groaned in response, trying to lift his head to see her.

"Careful of his back," Gale said softly. "On three… one...two...three." Peeta moaned loudly as he was shifted onto the board but Gale and his group lifted the board onto their shoulders while Bing and Bran helped support Katniss. Peeta drifted in and out of consciousness as they neared the Seam, and the door burst open when they arrived.

"Oh my god," Prim grabbed her sister's hand. "What happened?"

"Please tell me your mother is home," Bing said quietly.

"Yes, come inside." Prim and Violet both lurched into nurse mode and cleared the table for them to put Peeta onto. He cried out as he was jostled, positive that his back was on fire. Prim tried to look at Katniss's back but she shrugged her sister off, frantically gesturing toward Peeta.

"These are the worst lashes I have ever seen," Violet muttered before turning to pull things out of her cabinets. "Prim, get me several bowls of water and some clean cloths. We can't make a snowcoat so we will have to improvise."

"Katniss, sit down," Gale gently pushed her onto one of the chairs. "Let me clean you up a bit."

"I'm fine, Gale."

"No you're not. You're hurt. And you can't do him any good if you're hurt too. So the quicker you stop being a stubborn ass, the quicker you'll be able to care for your husband." Katniss blinked up at him in surprise. He had said the word without any sneering comment. After they helped position Peeta on the table, Thom and his friends left for work. Gale dabbed the wet cloth on Katniss's back and she flinched. Prim handed a bottle of clear liquid to her mother and shot Katniss a worried look. Violet uncapped the bottle and poured the liquid all over Peeta's back, drawing a pained scream. Katniss shrugged Gale off and jumped to her feet.

"What is that? It's hurting him!"

"It's ok, Peeta, you're ok," Bing tried to soothe his brother. Peeta panted into his arm, gasping for breath. Gale tried to get Katniss to sit down again but she shrugged him off.

"Gale, go to work."

"Katniss-"

"I'm fine! Prim can take care of my back when she's finished with Peeta. Really, it's ok." Gale wanted to protest but he couldn't afford to miss any work either.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"We will take care of her," Bing assured him. "Thank you for your help, Gale." Gale nodded and gave Katniss's hand a squeeze before exiting the house. Bing took the wet cloth and sighed.

"Do you mind?" She shook her head and turned around for him to have access to her injured back.

"Sit down. Peeta isn't going anywhere anytime soon." He gently pulled her down into the chair and started to clean her as best he could.

Bran refused to leave his son's side and he watched sadly as Violet cleaned up the blood. Underneath all that blood, his back was a complete mess. Bits of flesh had been removed altogether. The wounds ran so deep, Bran could swear he saw bone.

"My poor boy," he blinked back tears as he stroked his son's curls. Peeta's eye opened and he grimaced.

"Dad?"

"I'm here, Peet."

"Katniss?"

"Your brother is taking care of her."

"She… ok?"

"She's fine, son. Try to rest. Violet and Prim are going to fix you right up." Peeta's eye closed again and he hid his face in his arm. Bran turned away to give his son some privacy, for he knew the tears streaming down his cheeks were nothing his son would be proud of. Thanks to his wife, who had taught his boys that tears were shameful.

"Drink this, Peeta," Violet helped him sit up enough to drink the tea and thankfully, the sleep syrup worked quickly. He fell asleep on the table, occasionally twitching in pain.

"Thank you, Violet," Bran breathed.

"It's nothing, Bran. He's family. But I'm afraid there isn't much more we can do for him. He needs Capitol medicine."

"Call Haymitch Abernathy," Bing said as he cleaned Katniss's back. "He will get something here."

"Yes, we need to let him know what has happened," Katniss tried to jump up but Bing gently pushed her back down.

"Hang on, you're not going anywhere. Dad can go talk to him."

"But-"

"Katniss," Bran said gently. "You're in no state to go anywhere. Let your mother and sister give you some medicine and then you get some rest. I'll go talk to Haymitch." Katniss gave Peeta a sad look and nodded.

"Ok. But tell him to hurry." Bran nodded, kissed his son's curls, and left the house quickly. On his way out, he saw one of the Hawthorne boys making his way up the porch steps, looking dejected with his hands in his pockets. Bran nodded to him as he passed, making his way towards Victor's Village.

It was a bit of a walk from the Seam and he was out of breath when he arrived in front of Haymitch's house. He could still remember when Haymitch first moved here, after he had returned from the Games. He knocked on the door and waited with bated breath. Haymitch stumbled to the door, cursing. Bran wanted to punch some sense into him, despite his generally mild manner. Haymitch had promised to take care of his boy and he knew he had been drinking again.

"Bran? What are you doing here?"

"I need your help, Haymitch. Peeta needs your help." Haymitch blinked in the sunlight.

"Shit." He turned away and motioned for Bran to follow him in. They didn't stop in the kitchen, but continued to the basement, where Haymitch knew there were no Capitol devices to hear them. Haymitch sank into a chair and picked up a bottle. Bran snapped.

"Damn it, Haymitch! You promised to take care of these kids! You promised to straighten up so Violet would trust you with her daughters! You're useless when you're drunk, you know that!"

"I get drunk so I don't have to feel, Bran! Do you see them in your sleep? All of those kids, murdered on live TV for the entertainment of those Capitol bastards? Do you hear them crying out for their mothers in their last moments? Have you killed before, Bran? No of course you haven't. So you don't know what I'm feeling, therefore you don't get to tell me how to live my life!" Bran snatched the bottle out of his hands and threw it against the wall.
"Listen to me," he snarled. "You need to wake up and realize that people are depending on you. That child you watched over, for so many years, is all grown up and about to take on the Capitol. She can't do it by herself. She needs a mentor, like her father did. My son was tortured and twisted by the Capitol and he can't do this alone. They are ready to follow you, Haymitch. They're counting on you to get them out of 12 safely. And what happens when you get to 13? You have to stay focused and present so that you can help her be the Mockingjay you have been waiting for! I need you to WAKE UP and protect my children!" Haymitch jumped to his feet, swaying slightly, and Bran was certain he was about to hit him. But he fell back down and hid his face in his trembling hands. Bran watched the Victor's tears fall, as he had watched when a teenage Haymitch had found a dying Maysilee, both of them crying that they just wanted to go home.

"If this works, Haymitch," he whispered. "You'll never have to mentor another tribute again. We can be free. And all those deaths will have meant something." Haymitch nodded and wiped at his face.

"So you just came here to throw away my liquor?"

"No. Peeta's in very bad shape. I'm hoping you can help him." Haymitch's brow furrowed, then his eyes widened in realization.

"Shit. He took her flogging, didn't he?"

"You knew what he was planning?"

"I saw it in his face last night. He didn't know what else to do. I doubt even he realized that he would do that, until it came down to it. Did they whip her too?"

"Peeta stopped them but they got a couple of lashes in. Violet says he needs Capitol medicine. And I'm scared, Haymitch. How will he get to 13 now?" Haymitch shook his head miserably.

"He won't. He was counting on me to get her to 13. He knows he can't make the journey."

"She won't leave him behind. She could barely tear herself away from him today and she was injured too. How are you going to convince her to leave him?"

"I'm not. He'll be the one to do it. Those injuries will take weeks to heal and we don't have that kind of time. We have to get Katniss to 13 tomorrow."

"She's injured too, Haymitch. I don't know if she will be able to walk as quickly as you need her to. Maybe if we postpone the plan-"

"We can't," he cut the baker off. "I got word this morning that President Snow was taken to the hospital last night."

"The hospital? Why?"

"They think it's poison. Although they're not sure how."

"So what, we are dealing with some kind of Capitol coup?"

"It would seem like it," he said heavily. "And Peeta is right in the middle of it."


Rory Hawthorne started to knock but thought better of it, and pushed the Everdeen's door open. He stepped inside and felt his stomach roil at the stench of blood. Ignoring his discomfort, he made his way into the kitchen where he saw Prim and Mrs. Everdeen tending to a patient. Rory winced at the sight of the person. Normally, he wouldn't mind seeing a Peacekeeper in pain but this was different. He had come to respect this Peacekeeper. Even started to like him. His bare back was completely disfigured, marred by bloody lashes. Prim caught sight of him and her face darkened.

"Get out."

"Prim-"

"I don't want to hear it. Get out, Rory. I don't want to see you. None of us do." He cast the room a desperate look and saw Katniss hunched over on a chair, Peeta's older brother pressing a wet cloth to her back. He could see she was bleeding too.

"Listen," Rory stammered. "I am so sorry. I never thought-"

"You never thought someone else would suffer for your stupidity? How many times did Peeta tell you not to go into the woods, Rory? He warned you and your family because he knew something would happen! And it did! It almost happened to my sister!" Rory cast Katniss a horrified look.
"And now look. Because he loves her so much, Peeta took Katniss's whipping. So look at him. This is what YOU did."

"Prim," Katniss said gently, wincing as Peeta's brother spread some kind of medicine across her injuries. Rory's eyes filled with tears.

"I never meant for anyone to get hurt," his voice broke but he didn't care. Primrose's opinion of him meant everything and he couldn't stand the anger in her eyes.

"Mom is… she's dying, Prim. And I know you already knew that but she hasn't eaten. She's given every scrap of meat to Posy. I thought if maybe she could get some kind of protein, she would be able to fight this… whatever this is. I wasn't thinking… when you were screaming at me, I just lost it because I feel so helpless, all the time! Gale goes to the mines and he's the only one bringing any money in… I just want to help my family, Prim. My baby sister is starving to death, my little brother is becoming so angry and bitter with the world, and my big brother is carrying the whole family on his shoulders. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen and if I could take it back… I would have held onto that rabbit and taken the punishment myself." Prim shook her head but Katniss rose to her feet.

"I'm not saying what you did was smart, Rory. But there were peacekeepers waiting for me. Peeta doesn't want to admit it but they have probably known for a long time and were just waiting to catch me. I know how bad things are for your family. I don't blame you for this. Neither would Peeta." Rory cast Prim a hopeful glance and her nostrils flared.

"You're still a giant idiot, Rory Hawthorne. I'm still angry with you. But I understand. Just realize that this could have been you on my table," she waved her hand toward Peeta's still body and Rory grimaced.

"Is he going to be ok?"

"Our dad is going to see about some medicine," Bing said heavily, folding the cloth and draping it over the chair. "And I should really get home to April. Katniss, do you need anything before I go?"

"No, thank you for your help Bing." The eldest Mellark nodded and walked around to stroke his brother's hair.

"He's been through too much for being only eighteen years old." Katniss hobbled to Peeta's side and covered his hand with hers.

"I'm older than him. I never even asked him when his birthday is."

"It's June 2nd," Bing said with a small smile.

"I'll have to make him a birthday cake. I'm a terrible baker though."

"Lucky for you, you have bakers in your family now. Get some rest, Katniss." Bing squeezed her hand. "Thank you all for taking such good care of him."

"We will keep you updated. Tell Bran that we need that medicine soon, though. Preferably before he wakes. He will be in a lot of pain when he wakes up." To prove the point, Peeta moaned in his sleep. Bing nodded sadly.

"I'll tell him. Good day to you all." He gave them a weak smile before he exited the house. Rory sighed and leaned against the chair.

"Can I do anything to help?"

"There isn't much more to do, until we get some medicine. I'm most worried about infection right now. It's difficult to keep the wounds clean when they're exposed like this. Prim, go ahead and clean and bandage his wrists as well. I'll see to Katniss."

"I'm fine, Mom."

"You want to be able to move tomorrow? Sit down and let me give you some salve." She huffed but took a seat. Prim glanced up at Rory as she cleaned Peeta's wrists.

"I need to talk to you. Wait for me and we will take a walk." He nodded and watched her tend to her patient. She was so tender, so good with her hands. He knew he wanted Prim as his wife one day. His brothers called him crazy but Peeta had fallen in love with Katniss when he was five years old and no one called HIM crazy! Prim gently set Peeta's hands down and Rory watched carefully as she wrapped the clean bandage around his wrist.

"I'm finished Mom. I'm going to walk with Rory."

"Don't go far," Katniss said, her head lowered.

"I'll be careful, Katniss, don't worry." She beckoned for Rory to follow her outside and nearly ran into Haymitch.

"Sorry sweetheart," he grunted.

"Did you bring some medicine for him?"

"I brought what I could find. I'll have to order the rest but this is some Capitol-grade morphling so it should help with the pain."

"Mom gave him some sleep syrup but he will be awake in a few hours. Mom is inside with Katniss, if you want to go in. I'm going to walk Rory home." Haymitch could see the anger in the younger Everdeen's eyes and felt a stab of sympathy for the Hawthorne boy. But they needed Rory. And Gale. They needed them to leave with them, and he wasn't sure how they would take the news. Prim and Rory walked down the lane and out of earshot of the Capitol devices. Haymitch watched them go, hoisting the bag over his shoulder as he entered the tiny house.

He winced when he entered the kitchen and saw Peeta first.

"Damn they did a number on him," he muttered as he set the bag against the wall.

"Haymitch," Katniss said in a muffled voice.

"Hey sweetheart. How you holding up?"

"I'll be fine," she said stiffly. "But Peeta…Haymitch, please tell me you brought something that can help him."

"Mayor Undersee gave me a few bottles of his wife's morphling. They supply him pretty well, so he gave us what he could. I contacted Plutarch and Duartyr and they are ordering more. How is he doing, Violet?"

"How do you think he's doing, Haymitch," Katniss's mother said stiffly. "I can see his bones. The wounds are deeper than any I've ever seen. I can't believe he was conscious through the whole thing. My daughter was only whipped three times and I can't get the wounds to stop bleeding. Peeta needs help. Help that I can't provide." Haymitch turned back to Peeta and chewed his lip.

"We'll have to send him to the Capitol."

"No!" Katniss leaped to her feet, making her mother jump. "Haymitch, we can't! He's not going back there."

"Katniss, we can't help him here. We don't have the medicine he needs. If he stays here, he will die."

"Then I'm going with him."

"Sweetheart, you know that's impossible-"

"If you send him back there, I'm going with him! I'm not going… anywhere without him. He's my husband. I'm staying with him." Haymitch sighed and cast Violet a pleading look, but her eyes were cold. She stood up and folded her hands.

"I hope you will accompany my daughter and her husband to the Capitol, Haymitch." He scoffed at Violet, then turned to appeal to Katniss.

"Katniss, you know it's not a good idea for you to be in the Capitol. They will take good care of him, and then he will return to you. But you have somewhere else to be."

"It's as dangerous for him as it is for me," she said through her teeth. "I will not leave his side." Haymitch glanced at Peeta and hoped against hope that the boy could talk some sense into her when he woke up. Of course Haymitch wouldn't want to be left alone either. But Peeta had always put Katniss's safety first. His mangled back was proof of that. Haymitch had no doubts that Peeta would beg for Katniss to go to 13 without him.

He wished Peeta had been able to come up with another plan. Katniss wouldn't cooperate without Peeta, and they needed to get the Mockingjay to 13. He almost even wished that Peeta had let Katniss take the sentence. An injured Mockingjay was better than no Mockingjay at all.

No, he decided. As strong as Katniss's will was, her body was not. She had nearly starved to death as a child. Twenty lashes would have killed her. Peeta had done the only thing he could think of.

He wouldn't be able to recover without Capitol medicine, though. Haymitch knew Katniss understood that but he also knew the Mockingjay's devotion ran deep. Peeta had spoken his doubts of her love for him but Haymitch knew better. He could see it in the way she ran her fingers through the boy's curls, the way her body unconsciously leaned into his, the way tears filled her silver eyes.

Now he would have to tell Coin that they had to change the plan. And he knew she wouldn't be happy. Coin was all about duty and obligation. He doubted she would much care for Katniss's love for her husband. He wanted to tell Katniss what she had found out about President Snow and what was going on in the Capitol but he knew now wasn't the time.

"I'll come back later to check on the boy. You get some rest, sweetheart, you look terrible."

"Thanks," she said stiffly. Haymitch approached Violet and nodded.

"You and I need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Then I'll do the talking. And you're going to listen to me. For your daughter's sake." Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms.

"I'll be back this evening." Haymitch set the bottles of medicine on the counter and hoisted the bag over his shoulder. Violet watched him closely as he exited the house and headed back towards Victor's Village.


I had to split this chapter so it may be a little shorter than you expected! Sorry for the angst. Peeta is my favorite character so trust me, it hurts me to write him like this but Mockingjay was actually my favorite book because of all he went through and then overcame! But enough talk. Have a great week everyone! XOXO