I'm back! Here is a little update...sorry for the wait!

Chapter 39

I regain consciousness, lying in the hallway next to Merrick as my mother works on him. My mother has already taken care of me, evident from the gauze wrapped around my head. I sit up but that brings on dizziness and a queasy feeling in my stomach. I lower myself and scoot closer to Merrick. I try to ignore his painful moans as I consult my mother.

"Will he be ok?" I ask her in tears.

"I'm not sure yet." my mother plainly states as she remains focused on his abdomen.

"What are you doing now?" I pry for more information.

"Checking for any punctured organs. Once I'm certain, I can stitch him up."

"Is there any morphling left?"

"A little."

"Will it be enough?"

"Should be." she replies. I breathe a small sigh of relief. At least the pain will be gone for him soon. She spends a few more minutes checking him before giving him the shot. His face almost immediately relaxes and the wailing stops. I stroke his hair as my mother stitches him back together.

I wake up to find Gale sitting next to me on the edge of the bed staring down at me with a worried expression.

"How are you?" he asks, his voice hoarse.

"Who let you in?"

"Prim." he simply says. She doesn't know the whole story.

"Please go." I say turning away from him.

"Katniss." he softly replies, stroking my back.

"Just go!" I say with more fervor as I snap up to face him. Pain rushes to my temple and I let out a painful gasp as I clutch my head.

"Katniss." he worriedly whispers, bracing me.

"How could you leave him there?" I cry out.

"You were hurt."

"You were going to let him die out there."

"Did you expect me to leave you there?" he huffs.

"He's done nothing to you. How can you hate him so much?"

"One day he'll hurt you. He'll be your demise."

"So you decided to get rid of him before he could do that for me."

"No…not exactly." he hesitantly says.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused.

"I didn't mean to hurt him. I thought if I fought him, I could scare him off."

"But why the knife?" I beg for an explanation.

"I don't know what happened Katniss. I didn't mean to do that that. That was never what I intended. I don't even remember grabbing for it." he whispers. I don't believe him.

"I find that hard to believe."

"When he knocked you out, my instincts took over. I needed to protect myself so I could get you help. It's all a blur." he says, not quite making sense.

"Leave now." I murmur before lowering myself to my pillow.

"Can I come back to see you?"

"No." I reply. He doesn't try to change my mind; he just leaves. When I'm sure he's gone, I get out of bed to check on Merrick. I use the furniture and walls to support me in case I loose my footing. It's not until I get to the hallway that I realize it's night. The lights mounted on the hallway walls are dimmed, providing enough light to show outlines of things in the hallway. Merrick is where I last left him, lying motionless on top of some cushions. I can only hope that he is only sleeping.

I carefully lower myself, nestling between him and the wall.

"Merrick." I whisper, seeing if I can get his attention. When he doesn't respond, I repeat his name, this time gently stroking his cheek. This slowly brings him out of his sleep.

"Katniss." he whispers back, moving his forehead against mine.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

"Yes." he murmurs. He reaches his arm over his body and lets out a gasp.

"Don't move." I warn him. I don't want him to further hurt himself. I leave my hand on his arm to make sure he listens.

"You came back." he says in a low voice.

"They moved me."

"How's your head?"

"It's fine." I lie. The last thing he needs is to worry about me.

"I'm glad you're here." he says.

"Me too." I reply. I don't bring up what happened. I know if would only upset him if we talk about it.

"You'll stay with me?" he asks me with worrisome eyes.

"Yes."

"Katniss, I love you." he says quite desperately.

"Merrick…"

"I just need for you to know that."

"Why are you saying this now?"

"I think something might be wrong with me." he confesses. I sit up, lift his shirt, and remove the bandages. I reveal a troublesome sight. Something is definitely wrong. His veins are prominent with a greenish tint.

"You need help. We need to get you help." I tell him.

"What about your mother?"

"I don't think she can. We need to get you back to the barracks."

"No." he protests.

"You need Capitol medicine." I say firmly.

"If I go, I'll have to give a name."

"Lie. Tell them anything. You need medical help." I stress. "Tell them you didn't see who it was and they got away."

"Let's wait til morning."

"You could be dead by then. Do you think you can stand?"

"I'll try." he says. I help him up and lead him out the back door.

"I can manage from here." he says, leaning on the back porch post.

"No, I'm going with you." I say, my voice wavering.

"No, you can't."

"I need to make sure you get there."

"Katniss, if the catch you…"

"I don't care. I won't take you to the gate. I'll just get you close."

"Ok." he says, knowing I won't take no for an answer. We start our journey, which proves to be difficult. The further we walk, the more I feel his weight on me. We stay hidden in the cover of the trees for as long as we can, with him leaning on them when needed to give me a break. Luckily, it's late enough that no one is outside.

"Katniss, wait." he huffs. He stops me when we are in view of the barracks. There are lights on the towers slowly sweeping the empty fields surrounding it. "This is where I leave you."

"I don't want you to." I say wrapping my arms around him, careful of his wound.

"I don't want to either…but we both know we have to." he murmurs in my ear. I look up at him to take him in…I have a feeling I won't be seeing him for a while. "Whatever you do, do not come looking for me. I'll come to you."

"How long?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not very good at waiting."

"You've done your fair share of waiting for me."

"Kiss me." I plead. He doesn't hesitate in connecting his lips with mine. They tremble against mine as we both desperately try to hold onto this moment. He stops suddenly, gasping for breath.

"Wait for me." he says before pushing me back and hobbling into the open space. Within a minute he is spotted. He collapses to the ground and collected by the Peacekeepers that take him away to safety.

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