A/N- Hello! This as always, is theeShadyLady updating this story called, "I.W.N.S.G." This is the ninth installment (AKA Chapter 9) and I hope you all enjoy reading it! J

((DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hunger Games.))

Ch. 9:"Need"

Three months pass and Gale doesn't show up. I know I told him not to, but I'm still not sure I'm okay with the fact that he really didn't come to visit me.

Peeta, Ivy, and I board the train that is headed for District 13, for the 3rd anniversary of defeating the Capitol. Haymitch and Effie supposedly on the train already, but none of us haven't seen Effie. Haymitch greets me with a loud "Hello, sweetheart and... little sweetheart."

"Do you want to hold her, Haymitch?" I ask sitting down next to him at the table. A nervous expression takes over his face, but I still lean over and place Ivy carefully in his arms. As he holds her, the expression in his eyes seems to soften and the widest smile I have ever seen on him appears on his face. Peeta sits at the far end of the table away from us, sipping some type of hot liquid. He doesn't pace; he doesn't move, except to drink from his cup. It makes me nervous; he's too calm.

I let Haymitch hold Ivy the entire trip while I wander around the train looking for something to do. I find a video that says "2nd Anniversary: Unedited", so I put it in the TV to watch.

The very first scene is the train pulling up to District 13 and everyone getting off of it. I see Peeta and myself talking to Johanna, and then me walking away ignoring him as he chases after me. I see that the moment I stop in front of Gale, Peeta stops as well; in his eyes, I can see his heart breaking. Next, I see Gale walking away and Peeta telling me to go talk to him. But then, I see something that I didn't when I was there; Peeta follows us and so do the cameras. Peeta heard everything Gale and I said in the woods.

I fast forward to the ceremony, not wanting to relive those few minutes.

The cameras show me, Peeta, and the others waiting behind the stage to be called up. Soon after I leave to look for Gale; Peeta and I are called onto stage. But since I'm not there, only Peeta goes up and he announces that I'm not feeling well. This was a mistake, because the moment after he says it the cameras cut to me fighting with Gale on the train. After the ceremony ends everyone starts heading for the underground entrance, but Peeta stays behind waiting for me and looking miserable.

After a while, he and I join the rest of the citizens and everyone else underground and eventually the speeches start. After the crazy capitol guy is dragged away, I see me sneaking out and going down a dark hallway, but thankfully the cameras didn't follow any farther than that. Instead they go back to the rest of the speeches, which weren't very interesting. The next scene was shot in the night and is of someone running in the dark towards the train, when an invisible announcer on the video reveals that it's me, I shut the TV off and go back to sitting by Haymitch.

"Why'd you turn it off, Katniss?" asks Peeta, "It was just getting good."

"Well, we're almost to 13 aren't we?"

Just as we pull up to the offload spot in 13, Effie appears out of nowhere.

"Hello!" she says in her shrill voice that still rings of the capital.

"Hello, Effie," I say back. Haymitch grunts.

I take Ivy back from Haymitch and the five of us step off the train into the crowd of people. After a moment of searching we find Johanna, who is standing with a group of people that I don't know, and we make our way to her. Haymitch and Effie, however, apparently have better things to do because they wander away in different directions. So far today seems to be happening the same that it did last year, but this time I won't talk to Gale; this time I'll behave.

Peeta takes my hand and we walk together to the ceremony stage, talking about nothing of any importance. We are smiling and pretending to be madly in love, the same way we did after the 74th Games. As I hold her, Ivy makes quiet baby noises in her sleep. While we wait behind the stage I lean my head on Peeta's shoulder and he brushes my hair with his finger the way he used to when I couldn't sleep. We have become so good at pretending that I can almost make myself believe that all this isn't fake.

When Gale is called onto stage, I don't even look. I just wait patiently for my own name to be called. When the announcer finally calls us up, Peeta helps me up the stairs, even though I told him it wouldn't be necessary.

"Who is this?" asks the announcer.

"This is Ivy—"

"Hey! Mockingjay! Remember me?" shouts someone from the crowd. I look around searching for who said it, but I can't figure out who it was.

"Katniss! Look out!" Gale cries as he throws himself in front of me. He lands with a muffled thud.

"Gale?" I look down and see that he has a knife lodged in his stomach. I quickly hand Ivy to Peeta and then drop down to my knees next to my childhood friend, "Gale? Are you okay?"

"Yeah Catnip, I'm great." He grins up at me. "She looks just like you."

Blood is steadily flowing out of him and making a pool where he is lying, despite my attempt to slow it by pressing my hands on his stomach. "Katniss, stop. It's not going to help." He leans forward and I put one of my hands behind his head to support him.

"No, don't say that. You're going to be fine." I put my face close to his, "You have to be." I realize I am shaking as I talk, somehow I manage to keep my voice steady. I push my hand down even harder on his wound, pull myself as close as I can to him, and rest my forehead on his. "Why didn't you just let it hit me?" I whisper after a moment.

"Ivy needs you. And Peeta needs you. There's no one that needs me."

"That's not true. I need you, Gale. I love you."

"I know, Catnip," he says, slowly lifting his hand and gently grabbing my wrist. "I love you, too."

I feel his grip tighten on my wrist.

"Goodbye, Catnip."

"No, don't say that! We don't say that! Remember? Gale? Gale!" I scream at him, but it's too late. He's gone. "You can't leave me!" I cry, refusing to believe the truth lying in my own arms. He can't be gone, how could he leave me?! I feel someone grabbing my arms; it's Haymitch pulling me away. "Come on, Sweetheart, time to go." I want to fight him, but I can't I don't have the energy. I don't have any fight left in me.

But when we reach the far end of the stage, I get my fight back. I jerk away from Haymitch, "Who did it?!" I scream. "Who killed him?"

"I did," a man says stepping forward from the crowd. Without thinking I sprint forward grab the knife that's still sticking in Gale and then fling it at the man. The knife hits him directly in the forehead and kills him instantly. By the time he hits the ground the people around him are just realizing what happened. I jump off the stage to see who he is; standing over him I recognize him but I don't know from where.

After a couple more moments I finally figure it out. He's from the 2nd Anniversary; the angry one from the Capital; the one who screamed at me... But now he's just a dead man that killed my best friend. I yank the knife out of his forehead and then clean his blood off of it by wiping it across his face, then for good measure I kick the ground spraying dirt in his face.

I turn back towards the stage, pull myself up on to it, grab Peeta's hand and start heading for the train. "I want to go home."

~theeShadyLady~