Thank you to all those who favorited this story, put it on alert, and reviewed it. I know. It's been 5ever since I've updated this story. I promise it's not abandoned or anything. I've been working a lot because I'll be moving soon. I know. Excuses, excuses. Hopefully once I'm moved and settled into my new job, you guys can get more frequent updates. I feel terrible for leaving you guys hanging all the time, and trust me, I love this story and want you to have it. It's just finding the time to get it to you.

Disclaimer: Sadly, Suzanne Collins owns the Hunger Games and everything involved with it, but I own my characters. So, don't steal them. Please? Thank you.

Oh Lord, oh Lord, what do I do?
I've fallen for someone
Who's nothing like you
He's raised on the edge
Of the Devil's backbone
Oh, I just wanna take him home

Chapter 16: Stay

I could just imagine the look on Merrick's face at the sight of his little sister cuddled up with the brute from District Two. There was part of me that wanted to laugh at the thought, but I mostly hoped that he understood why I was trying to keep him safe; I hoped my family back home did, as well. Mostly, I tried to convince myself that I would need Cato later in the game, someone in my corner besides my invisible guardian angel. I hadn't seen Crest since we had split up at the waterfall, but something told me he was out there. Still, it was a nice thought knowing I had another ally in Cato. At least, I hoped I did.

I was bordering between asleep and awake, listening for anything that could have signified danger or any announcements that the Gamemakers might have had for us. My slight alertness was the only reason I awoke when Cato began shivering again. He had been completely fine throughout the night, and it wasn't very noticeable at first. I just thought the sleeping bag had slipped off on his side, so I snuggled in closer. After a few more minutes, the shaking became more persistent and the tremors more violent. Forcing myself to fully wake up, I pushed myself off of Cato and pulled the sleeping bag back to look down at him.

The leaves that covered the stings were oozing with the venom from the tracker jackers. I could only guess that the leaves had drawn out as much as they could and needed to be changed. Cursing myself for not realizing that might happen, I sighed heavily when I realized I didn't have enough leaves left to redress all of his stings. That meant only one thing: I had to venture back out to the cliff to get more. I didn't know what it was, but I felt more wary than I had the previous day about leaving Cato alone. Unfortunately, it was necessary.

Cato began mumbling again, but it was only words jumbled together, making no sense. I reached into my pack and pulled out my canteen; it would need to be refilled when I made it to the river. Moving to put Cato's head in my lap, I brushed some of the hair from his brow, the strands clinging to the sweat there. I couldn't imagine what kind of hallucinations he might have been seeing or what dreams that could have plagued his mind, but I had to try and get him to listen to me.

"Cato," I started, but there was no indication that he had heard me at all. "Cato, I need to come back to me for two seconds." I only heard mumbles from him so I kept talking. "You're sweating a lot, and I need you to drink something so you don't lose all of your strength. Do you think you can try that?" I waited for a few moments, hoping I could break through whatever haze was clouding his mind, before I finally heard him mumble 'water.' I sighed in relief and tipped the canteen to his open mouth. He started to reject it, but he managed to swallow some. "That's good. Keep it down." I gave him a little more before he fell back under the effects of the venom.

I stared down at him for a few moments, draping the sleeping bag back over his body. There was no way I was going to be able to sit and watch him get better on his own. Along with the shaking, he was pale and sweating. It pained me to see him like that. Before I moved, I leaned down, keeping my voice down so that only he could hear me. "Just stay with me. Please."

I gathered my things quickly, wanting to get there and get back as soon as I possibly could. Leaving Cato alone in that log was still bothering me, a little voice in the back of my head telling me to stay with him, but he needed to get better. I grabbed the sword, the only real weapon I had left and marched off toward the cliff over the river. There was no carefulness in my footsteps, needing to get the trek over with as soon as possible.

I made it to the cliff with ease, and rather than risk not getting enough, I stripped the rest of the plants of their leaves, tucking them safely away in my backpack. After that, I climbed down the rocks carefully, not wanting a repeat of the day before. The hill was too steep to go down right next to the cliff, so I had to walk down a bit in order to get to an accessible part of the river to refill the canteen. Every couple of minutes, I would look up to make sure I was alone and safe. Once the canteen was filled, I moved as fast as I could through the forest to get back to Cato. By the movement of the sun, it looked like I had been gone for over an hour, at least. Much too long for my liking.

As I made my way back to the tree and the tribute within it, I tried not to let my thoughts dwell on Cato for too long. Every time I did, I ended up trying to analyze how he acted around me and what that meant in terms of how he felt toward me. It was beginning to get to the point that I couldn't hide how I felt toward him. Being unable to kill him as well as nursing him back to health were pretty drastic things to do for someone I was supposed to off in the end. I was sure that if it absolutely came down to it, if it were only the two of us left, I could kill him. I wouldn't like it, but I wanted to make it home. That still didn't overwhelm my feelings for him. I had finally accepted that it was more than just a pull. Cato had made me feel for him. Affection I was sure of, but I was still sorting the rest out.

A smile crept up my face when I found the last tree I had marked, but it soon melted into a frown when I heard grunting. At first, I thought it was Cato trying to pull himself out of the tree, but when I rounded a dense group of bushes, my heart almost fell out of my chest. Another tribute was pulling Cato out of the tree, spear leaning against the trunk and ready to use. I recognized him as the boy from District Ten. The boy tossed Cato on the ground once he was out enough, and I finally managed to make my feet move when he grabbed the spear. There was no way he was going to kill Cato.

My pack was on the ground and the sword in my hands up in seconds, coming in contact with the spear and spinning it away from its target. Either I had been quieter than I realized or he had been so focused on killing Cato, because the boy seemed shocked to see me. Stepping in between Cato and the boy, I shook my head. "Don't even think about it." The sword was lowered, too heavy for me to hold up properly the entire time. I was trained okay in swords, but the one in my hands was balanced perfectly for Cato, not me. "If you're smart, you'll leave right now."

"You think I'm stupid enough to pass up killing the biggest competition in the game?" He asked. "Move aside, girl." His voice was full of condescension, and it made me see red.

"Really?" I countered, just waiting for him to strike. I could see him building up to it. "I thought you were smart enough to leave without injury when it was offered." I tightened my grip on the sword, widening my stance and putting the weight on my dominant foot. "You're not touching him. End of story."

The boy struck faster than I had expected, but I was still able to knock his attack away, the tip of the spear just tearing through the top layer on my jacket. He seemed about as trained with the spear as I was with the sword, leaving us evenly matched. It was still a battle between two teenagers, our strikes sloppy and quick. He managed to get me off my feet once, starting to move towards Cato. I was up too soon, bringing my sword back between him and his target and knocking him back a couple of feet. There was no way Cato was dying on my watch and not that way. Cato deserved more than to die defenseless and unconscious. We all deserved more than anything the Hunger Games had to offer.

But you play the hand you're dealt.

The boy sent a wild swipe of his spear at me, but I quickly dodged it, tumbling to the side in time. When I was out of the way, he advanced on Cato again, and instinct suddenly took over. My emotions shut down and all I saw was red once more. As he moved to stab Cato, I managed to lock the blade of the sword under the blade of his spear and twisted it out of his grasp, sending it flying. My leg swept behind both of his; in a matter of seconds, he was lying flat on the ground and I was plunging the sword through his chest. He looked shocked for a moment before letting out a long breath as he passed.

It took my brain a moment to catch up with what had just happened, only registering my ragged breaths for a few seconds before it all it. I fell to the ground, my hand coming up to cover my mouth. The cannon fired, signaling that I had indeed killed the boy in front of me. The boy… I didn't even remember his name. I took deep breaths in through my nose and released them just as slowly, doing my damnedest to keep the tears I could feel pricking at the corners of my eyes from falling down my cheeks. It was the second life I had taken, but it wasn't any easier. I didn't even think staying in the academy could have prepared me for out it felt. I had to push it down, though. It was a feeling I would have to deal with later. Much later.

I picked up my discarded pack and tossed it back into the tree. With some effort, I pulled the sword from the District Ten tribute with a sickening squish sound and threw it inside the tree as well. As long as Cato or I were near the body, the hovercraft would never come and retrieve him, so I applied the same technique I had used to pull Cato into the tree and wrapped my hands under his arms, pulling him away from the fallen tree. Once I was about fifteen feet away, I slowly lowered his body back to the ground. I stood there for a moment, that feeling of dread washing over me once more. I couldn't let myself continue to feel it, telling myself for the time being that killing him had been necessary and allowing myself to believe it. That was the only way I was going to keep my head. Before walking away from him, I scooped up some dirt from the ground and sprinkled it over his body, a tradition in District Four at burials.

The shoulder that had been dislocated before was burning again from soreness, the fight having pushed it almost to its limit, and I still had to pull Cato back into the tree. He still needed to rest and get his stings redressed with new leaves. I gave myself a couple of minutes to rest, taking a few sips of water, the hovercraft coming to take the boy during that time, before getting up and pulling Cato back inside. I collapsed once the deed was done. He was a lot heavier than I was, but with him still unconscious, the only option I had was to move him myself. When I rested a little more, I pulled Cato farther in, away from any prying eyes that might come by. I didn't want or need another death on my hands.

When I finally had us both settled, I pulled the new leaves from my pack and began putting them over the stings. "I can just imagine the quips you would be coming up with if you were awake right now," I said to Cato's quivering form. "You'd make some comment about me being a terrible nurse, I'm sure." I was practically talking to myself, but it was keeping my mind off of what I had done to keep him alive. "I really need you to get better and wake up," I said quietly, pulling his shirt back down once the stings on his torso were covered. "I don't know how much longer I can stand being alone out here."

The only response I got was a large shiver and a quiet moan, and I sighed, pushing the hair off his brow once more. It was hard seeing him like that, defenseless and vulnerable, but it was all the more reason that he needed me. Draping the sleeping bag back over his body, I made sure it was tucked in tightly before relaxing against the tree. I sat close by, letting any residual heat from my body seep through the sleeping bag to him. After my fight with the boy from District Ten I was sore and tired, but I was still too wary to let my guard down and sleep, even though I knew I needed it. There was no telling when the pace of the Games would pick back up, either by the hands of the tributes or the Gamemakers becoming bored by the sluggishness of the competitors.

I nibbled on the last of the good piece of squirrel meat that Katniss had cooked for us. There was still rationed dried meat stuffed in my pack, and that would come in handy once Cato woke up. As I ate the meat, I thought back to the cupcake Merrick had sent and tried to imagine the taste of it instead of the aging squirrel between my fingers. With a few swigs of water, it was easier to wash down.

There was little movement outside the tree, mostly birds or the animals in the arena with us, as the sun kept moving through the sky, making its way toward the horizon. It was getting more and more difficult to fight my body on what it wanted and needed most. I was thankful that I was such a light sleeper, otherwise I would have continued to fight it. But I knew sleep was precious in a situation such as the one I had been thrown into, and I had to take it when I could get it. As it was, Cato had begun shivering once more, so I crawled back under the sleeping bag and drifted off to his steady heartbeat.

As soon as my head hit the hard surface below me, I jolted awake. I had been having a dream about the beach, laying in the sand and letting the tide slowly pull me in. It was the first peaceful dream I had had in quite some time, and I wasn't too happy about being woken up from it. It took me a second to really get my bearings. The sky was barely lit by whatever light was outside, and from inside the tree, it was hard to tell if the sun was setting or if I had slept all night and it was rising again. That was when I heard the grunting.

Cato had his upper body out of the fallen tree and was trying to drag himself out the rest of the way. From his sluggish pace, he still seemed very weak but at least he was conscious once more. I wasn't about to let himself exhaust himself enough to pass out on me again. "Cato, what the hell are you doing?" I asked quietly, moving down toward him.

"Getting the hell out of here," he mumbled back without looking at me. "And back to the Cornucopia."

In seconds, I was behind him, pulling him back until he was slumped against the inside of the tree again, his breathing labored and heavy. "Cato, you and I both know that you wouldn't make it twenty feet out there." I could see that the leaves on him needed to be changed, venom coming from underneath them, though it was considerably less than the time before. "I think there's still venom in you, and you haven't eaten or drank properly in two days."

Cato stared at me, clearly tired from the simple exertion of energy it had taken to get himself halfway out of the tree. The look in his eyes, though, was one that I had seen a few times before. That unnerving stare that felt as if it was going straight through me, reading every little piece of me. I could tell he was trying to size me up, like after I had chosen to align myself with Katniss, he was sure he couldn't trust me. That wasn't something I could exactly blame him for. I had left the alliance of wealthier Districts because of Glimmer's actions. Adding on top of that the venom coursing through his veins, probably making him hallucinate, I would have been cautious, too.

With my utmost sincerest face, I gave him a small smile, hoping it was unnoticeable to the cameras. "All I want to do is help, Cato. I promise."

After a few more moments of concentration, I could see him slowly relax against the wall of the tree and sigh, giving in to the exhaustion and laying still. "What happened? How long have I been out?"

"Almost two days, I think." As soon as he was relaxed, I pulled my pack closer, retrieving my canteen of water and some dried beef. It was important to get him to eat and drink while he was conscious enough to do it. "You don't remember?"

"The last thing I really remember was you whispering something to me before you took off," he said quietly, tiredness already sneaking up into his voice. I took the opportunity to hand him my water canteen, which he accepted and sipped from. "And I think I got Peeta in the leg with my sword."

When he had finished off half the canteen, I took it from him and handed him some of the dried meat I had pulled out, taking a strip of it for myself, as well. "You did get him, but I haven't heard a cannon for him, so I assume he's alive. Katniss dropped a tracker jacker nest on your little campsite. I haven't seen her since."

"Of course she did," he growled, angry that he had been bested by Katniss once more. With his anger flared, I could tell he was trying not to finish the meat too quickly, forcing himself just to nibble on the strips. "Any deaths?"

The question startled me, even though it wasn't unwarranted. If I had missed two days of the Games, I would want to know what my competition looked like. "Glimmer died when the nest was dropped, and..." I paused, and I hoped it wasn't obvious that talking about it made me uncomfortable. I still hadn't fully come to terms with what I had done; it was something I would worry about outside the arena. "The boy from District Ten died some time yesterday."

"Only two?" Cato asked as I offered him the canteen again to wash down the beef. It appeared he hadn't picked up on my apprehension to mention the boy from District Ten, and I was grateful. "At least I haven't missed too much action."

"Yeah, but if things don't pick back up soon, who knows what the Gamemakers will do?" I took the canteen away from him, placing it back in my pack and pulling out fresh leaves to replace his old ones. When I turned back to him, he was already peeling off some of the old leaves. "You can do most of these yourself, but there are some on your back you won't be able to get."

Cato slowly pushed himself up, but it was hard not to miss the smirk on his face. "Have you been checking me out while I've been unconscious?" He asked, taking the used leaves out from under his shirt. "You and I both know I'm a lot more fun when I'm awake."

"I'm not quite sure you've proven that yet," I said, shoving some into his hand. I had known he would make some sort of comment, so it hadn't fazed me like I was sure he had wanted it to. "Now shut up and change your leaves."

Cato was quiet for a moment, only sighs of relief as he placed the new leaves into place fell from his lips every so often. Once he was finished and couldn't reach any more of the stings, he turned his back to me, and I slowly lifted his shirt. The stings on his back were in the same condition as the rest, oozing venom, but not as much as there had been previously.

As I started taking the old leaves away, I heard him mumble something but couldn't quite make it out. "What was that?"

"I asked if you were psychic or something?" He asked a little louder. When I gave him a confusing look over his shoulder, he just rolled his eyes and continued. "Because here we are in the Games, and you're patching me up with leaves."

I remembered our conversation at the plant station and couldn't help but chuckle. "What can I say? I know you better than you think I do." As I started to put the new leaves into place, I softened my voice. "That doesn't mean I'm happy that I'm right. I didn't want you to get hurt to prove my point."

"Is that why you told me to run?" He asked, lowering his shirt as I finished. The look he gave me was completely curious.

I knew exactly why I told him to run, and it was a lot more complicated than just not wanting him to get injured. Cato had wormed his way in somehow, and I wasn't happy about it. But it wasn't something I could change. And it certainly wasn't something I was about to tell him. It would just be a weakness that he could exploit, and that wasn't something I could afford. All I could do was go along with what half-truth my brain was feeding me about needing him as an ally in the arena. It was plausible, and something I was sure he wouldn't question. At least not directly to me.

When I realized I hadn't replied for some time, I put what few leaves I had away and leaned back against the tree. "Get some rest, Cato. We'll go get more water at dawn and then I'll take you back to your camp."

I was surprised when he didn't protest, but part of me knew how much the venom had affected his strength. It was a long time before I even thought about sleeping, worried about what images might plague me and worried for the boy next to me. I had told myself when I had tried to kill him that someone else was going to have to do the job, but when the boy from District Ten had attempted it, it was still unimaginable. The longer Cato stayed in the Games, the harder it was going to be on me. But something told me, as I looked at his sleeping form, that I was already in too deep.

CATO OC CATO OC CATO OC CATO OC CATO

Yay! The chapter is finally done! Like I said, I'll be moving in the next couple of weeks, so I'm hoping to get at least two chapters to you before that time. I don't know how long it will take me to settle in once I get there, but you'll get another update once I do! So far, April's body count is two. It might rise, it might not. You'll just have to wait and see! One thing's for sure, Cato and April will be getting closer very soon!