A/N: Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I'm glad you like it so far. The idea of this story is something I have been curious about since I read the books, so I decided I'd play it out myself! I've already pre-written the first three chapters before publishing the story, just because my mind was flowing, and as long as I continue to get positive feedback as I post them, I'll continue on with the story unabashed. Without further delay, here is the next chapter!

Change of Fate

Chapter Two: What Wasn't Said

Katniss

I wake up and I have no idea where I am. I sit up and see that I am in a medical bay of some sort. I look to my left and I see Peeta laying down in a bed just like mine, and to my right I see Beetee also on a bed. Johanna is in a bed across from me. What happened? Where the hell are we? I don't understand... Were we captured by the capital after the stunt I just pulled? But then I start to think, and I remember what Chaff was saying at the tree. Something about a rescue? So were we rescued? And by whom?

Then I hear some voices coming from the other end of the room, so I stand up and begin walking over to the voices. I am shocked by what I hear, the voices are familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on who they are...

"... well I think that went about as well as we could've hoped. Shame about Chaff, but he almost blew the whole damn thing. If Snow had been paying close enough attention, he'd - "

That's when I open the door and I feel my jaw drop to the floor. I see Haymitch standing around a table with Finnick and Plutarch Heavensbee, the head gamemaker. I am so confused. What is going on? My face must not be revealing my shock because all Haymitch does is give me a wide smile and says, "How are you sweetheart?" As he comes in to give me a hug.

I don't know what to say exactly, but I am glad to see Haymitch so I warmly embrace him. But I am also deeply confused, I do not know how we are here. How everyone is not in the arena. How Peeta and I managed to escape together when we had both been so ready to sacrifice ourselves for the other. Then I remember that we are in the presence of Heavensbee and I quickly let go. "I need answers Haymitch."

Before he can respond, Plutarch does. "Katniss, you were always our priority. We were always going to get you out. This is the rebellion, and you are our Mockingjay." He says this plainly, as if I have no choice. As if it is settled. As if I get no say in the matter. "We are on our way to District 13 right now." I look around the room and make eye contact with Finnick, he is studying my face carefully, just as he did in the Games, but I am sure my face displays nothing for him to read.

I snap back at Plutarch sharply, "Don't I need to agree to be your Mockingjay before you make me your poster child? I have a family I need to think about. I don't want them to get caught in this..." I think privately to myself that I don't want Peeta to suffer because of my choices. Or his family.

Plutarch's face also shows no emotion as he responds, "Moves and countermoves Ms. Everdeen. This is all a game. I believe that your family is safe, and I also believe that in a matter of time you will come to the decision of becoming the Mockingjay on your own. You will be the Mockingjay not because I'm telling you to, not because Haymitch is telling you to, not even because Peeta will tell you to do so," I think to myself that Peeta would never tell me to do anything that I didn't want to do, "but because you know President Snow to be as vile of a man as I do. You know that he has put this country through hell and back, kept us all impoverished, and held us all hostage through the use of the Hunger Games. You know that he threatened to kill you and your entire family if you didn't put out the fires of rebellion that you sparked in your first games. Most of all though? I know you will do the right thing. Many people are counting on you to do the right thing. Now forgive me, but this day has tired me incredibly, and I will retire. We should reach thirteen in a few hours, till then..." he said waving his hand to us and departing the room.

I cannot stand that man. Talking to me as if he knows me. As if he knows how I think and how I'll react and how I feel. No one really knows how I feel. Not even me. I turn to Haymitch and Finnick, "You two have some serious explaining to do," I say.

Then before they can respond I hear a familiar voice behind me, "Seriously Haymitch... Where are we anyways?" I turn around and am filled with joy when I see Peeta and his beautiful face smiling at me and I give him a huge hug. I don't know how long we hold each other in the other's arms, but it feels like a lifetime. It feels like an eternity since we were last conscious together, even though from what I gather it was only a few hours ago.

We are interrupted by Haymitch, "Hem... I am glad to see you two are enjoying your reunion, but there will be enough time for you to kiss and cuddle later. If you want answers, I'd be glad to tell you what I can."

I turn and glare at Haymitch, but he just shrugs. I know that he has always hoped, deep down, that I would actually figure out my feelings for Peeta. He always wanted our star crossed lovers act to end up being real. Maybe it is? I don't know at this point. Well, maybe I do... But Peeta and I need to talk. Privately. Away from prying ears. And this is not the time, nor place. So I let go of Peeta, but I still clutch his hand tightly as I speak to Haymitch and Finnick. "Tell me. Tell us," I correct myself, "Tell us what the hell happened. Tell us why you are working with these people. And tell us why you didn't tell us what you were planning all along Haymitch!" I feel the anger boiling beneath my skin as I yell at our mentor.

He sighs and eyes us closely for a moment before speaking. "Before I answer your questions, and yes Katniss, you better believe that I'm going to answer them, I need you two to understand something. I never planned any of this. I never wanted you two to become what you have, but ya know what? Sometimes life throws you a curveball and you still have to figure out a way to hit the son of a bitch. I was always protecting you. Both of you. I was never going to let either of you die in that arena. Hell, why do you think I practically built your damn alliance for you? You were too stubborn, you wanted to go at it alone with only Peeta. If I'd let you do that, Peeta would've died either when that Career tried to drown him at the beginning or when he hit the damn force field later on. How would you have felt if he died because of your refusal to work with anyone else?" I want to hit Haymitch so badly right now. "I did what I had to do to get you both out alive, and honestly, I'd appreciate a thank you of some sort," I want to punch him... "So please Katniss, spare me the whole 'I hate you for lying to me' song and dance. I've heard it all before. I'm not your father Katniss, so don't act like - " My desire to hit him becomes reality as I slash him across the face with my fingernails. I want to keep hitting him, but Peeta grabs me and holds me back, pulling me in close to him as I struggle to get free.

"DON'T TALK ABOUT MY FATHER! YOU'RE A LIAR HAYMITCH! YOU LIED TO US! DON'T TRY AND DENY IT!" I shout at him. Even with as mad as I am at him, I do understand. I get that he did a lot for us, and when I'm less angry with him, I will thank him. But right now I just want to strangle him.

When I finally calm down and Peeta lets me go, he steps in between me and Haymitch and points his finger right at our mentor. "Don't talk down to her. Don't act like you're some great hero just because you got us out of that arena. You didn't tell us anything. You sent us in there blind as bats, so don't expect us to be bowing down to you and worshipping you, Haymitch. I am grateful for what you did, and I'm sure Katniss is as well, but you still have some explaining to do. So why don't you just continue."

I feel eternally grateful to Peeta for conveying this. If I wasn't so angry, I would've tried to say something like it. I still glare right at Haymitch, and he glares right back at me, but eventually he nods solemnly and continues on with his story. "Fine. Where was I? Right... Building your alliance for you. If you remember correctly, almost every tribute wanted to form an alliance with you two, even the careers, but since you couldn't give me anyone other than Beetee, Mags, and Wiress that you wanted, I had to pick for you. Luckily, it wasn't that hard. Finnick here was a natural fit, we've been friends for years and since you wanted Mags it made sense for him to join along. He's known Johanna for a while, and she hated the Capital as much as any of us. The Morphlings were always loyal to the rebels, and Chaff was a good friend of mine. You had the perfect group to combat whatever and whoever opposed you once inside. All I had to do was send you a message that would let you know who to trust. My bracelet seemed like the perfect thing."

A few moments passed by without a word from anyone, before Peeta broke the silence. "And Haymitch? You're not done are you? Because you still have a lot to answer for."

He gave Peeta a shrewd, smug look. "Oh yeah? What else did you want to know?"

"How about the other things Katniss asked you! Why are you allied with the rebels when you told us before that you weren't? And why did you let us go into that arena without knowing you were going to try and rescue us?" He says, and I can tell by the shaky sound of his voice that Peeta is as exhausted as I am.

Yet Haymitch does not answer this round of questions, Finnick does. "Peeta, think about it all for a moment and you'll find the answers. Snow was watching you. Both of you, but particularly Katniss, ever since your first games. And not to be harsh to you Katniss, but everything you did irritated him beyond belief. Apart from the berries stunt, when you got back to Twelve and you shunned Peeta away and turned to Gale for comfort, that only fueled the fires of the rebellion. While you may have gotten the capital to go along with it, the people in the districts didn't believe your love story at all. They all viewed it as an act of defiance, just like Snow told you before the Victory Tour, and you didn't do a thing to change their opinions. So he watched you carefully everywhere you went. If Haymitch, or Effie, or Cinna, or anyone had tried to tell you that they were a part of the Rebellion before it was absolutely necessary... It wouldn't have ended well. Katniss you are a lot of things, but a great actor is not one of them, and if Snow had probed you to see if you knew anything about us or the Rebellion - and you actually did! - he would've known instantly. He would've read you like a book. The same goes for if we had told you about the rescue. He would've known, and he likely would've deduced that Plutarch was on our side. Which would've put us all in even greater danger." Finnick looked at both of us and sighed before sitting down and resting his head in his hands on the table.

Haymitch continued in his stead, "So you see, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you all of this before. But it was for your own good..." There is a pause for several moments, and I think that I can hear light snores coming from Finnick's direction. "So, how about we have a group hug here, put our ill feelings aside for the moment, and you two go get some sleep. Eh?" I glance at Peeta, and he is in just as much need for rest as I am. I concede, for now, and as Haymitch hugs us, I eye him cautiously. In my mind, he still has a few questions I need answers to. But those will have to wait for now. Haymitch escorts us back to our med bay beds before going back to his own quarters. Peeta and I lay down in our respective beds for a while in silence.

I can't sleep though as I toss and turn restlessly. My mind is racing. Just a few hours ago I was positive I wouldn't be alive at this point. Let alone being on a hovercraft taking me to District 13, or what's left of it anyways. There is so much to process. My actions have led to full scale rebellion and war. I'm unsure of whether to be proud of myself or sick to my stomach. I turn on my side to glance over at Peeta, praying that he is awake like I am so that he can comfort me like no one else can. "Peeta?" I whisper.

He turns to face me and gives me the smile I had so longingly hoped for, "Can't sleep either?" He asks.

I shake my head no. I then feel slightly stupid and uncomfortable as I shift in my bed but I ask him, "Will you come over here?"

He smiles again, "Always." He gets up and joins me in my small bed. We both giggle as it is obvious these medical beds are not meant for two people, but we both realize that neither of us is getting any sleep on this ride unless we're holding each other. I don't know why, but I feel more at ease when I'm with him. I feel like I can take a deep breathe and just relax without having to worry about anything. Neither of us falls asleep, but being comforted like this after the ordeal we've just been through in the Games is just what I need.

I realize though that we do really need to talk. I'm not sure if this is the time yet, and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to even start the conversation, but words sort of just start coming out of my mouth as if I have no control over them. "Peeta, I know that this isn't the best time for this, but I need you to know..." I trail off as our eyes meet. I feel his heartbeat increasing in sync with the increasing pace of my own. "I meant everything that I said on the beach last night." It's like word vomit. I couldn't stop myself even if I really wanted to. I feel myself blush and I see his eyes light up as he smiles.

"Yeah? Well, I meant everything that I said last night too." I hide my face from him. I can't even handle this. He starts to laugh as I bury my face into his chest. "You don't have to be so shy about it. It's only human you know?"

I don't respond to this exactly, but I continue, "I know. It's just so weird to be talking about this kind of stuff with everything else that's going on. It's pretty surreal..."

"I know, believe me I know," he says somewhat sadly.

I turn back to face him and stare directly into his deep, perfect blue eyes and say, "When we figure out everything and get settled in wherever we're going, we should really talk. I know I owe you an explanation -" but he cuts me off before I can continue.

"Katniss, you don't owe me anything. We're going to have a lot to do I expect when we get to District 13, you being the Mockingjay and all... But when we have time, yes, let's talk. It'd be good for us to talk about things outside of the arena. Outside of the Games."

I smile, there he goes again. Being Peeta. Being my Perfect Peeta. Knowing just what to say and how to say it to make me feel better and I give him a peck on the lips to reassure him things between us outside the Games will be fine. Then I place my head back on his chest and close my eyes, determined to get some real rest... And I succeed without a single nightmare.

*Later*

We are rudely awaken by the high-pitched sound of Johanna's voice, "Alright lovebirds enough is enough. You're gonna make me yack I'm so disgusted!"

I keep my eyes closed, and I'm fuming. I want to slap Johanna as badly as I wanted to Haymitch earlier, and that turned out so well for him. I hear Peeta whisper in my ear, "Don't worry about her... But lets get up we're almost to 13," and then I feel him sit up, so I grudgingly join him. I open my eyes to see everyone else; Finnick, Plutarch, and Haymitch, all standing in the room with us while Beetee still rests on his bed.

I watch as we pass through a vast desert wasteland that I vaguely remember from when we were on our Victory Tour. It's like a place that had been bombed entirely out of existence. Eventually we reach an open area in the ground where the hovercraft comes to a halt, and then lowers itself down several floors before gently moving forward through another zone of tunnels. Finally, we touch down in a hanger bay and begin to disembark. As we exit the hovercraft I see my mother, Prim, and Gale and I rush over to embrace them. I am so glad they are here, although I am a little confused. Why aren't they in Twelve?

It's as if Gale knows exactly what I'm thinking and he speaks, "Hey Katnip... We should probably talk. All of us. Including them," indicating Haymitch and Peeta who are off on the side talking to each other. I don't particularly follow what Gale means but I oblige and get their attention. We follow Gale into a room on the side of Hanger, and he closes the door behind us. He sighs before making eye contact with each of us, and I am still very confused. "I have some not so good news..."

"Gale, what happened? Why are you here and not back in Twelve?" I ask him.

He looks me directly in the eyes for a moment before sighing and looking at the ground. It's as if he can't even face me. "There is no District Twelve."

I don't understand. What does he mean by that? But it's Peeta who speaks first, "What are you talking about Gale?"

"After the Games... Capital hovercraft came to Twelve and - " I can tell he's struggling and I think I have an idea of what he's going to say as I feel my heart beat faster and faster, "they fire bombed the whole place. All of it is all gone." My heart sinks through the floor as I fall to the ground and tears start running down my face. Snow and I agreed not to lie to each other that day when he came to visit me, and he told me this is what he'd do if I didn't quell the Rebellion. I didn't. I fueled the fires even more. So he kept his word. "I was able to get out about 800 people, but... I couldn't get out everyone." As sad as I am, I don't understand why he's saying this. Obviously he couldn't get out everyone. Then it hits me. He's not talking to me. When I look up at Gale, he is looking at Peeta who is putting it together himself. "Peeta, I'm so sorry. I didn't know where your family would be because they weren't in the bakery..."

I see Peeta's face as he leans back and falls into the couch behind us. It is distraught. Angry. Sad. Devastated. Confused. And now wet as tears start streaming down his face. I stand up and sit next to him and pull his face close to mine so I can look him in the eye. "Peeta I am SO sorry. I can't even imagine what you're going through - " but I am cutoff by him as he stands up suddenly and leaves the room slamming the door and leaving the rest of us in silence.

I make to follow him, but Haymitch grabs my hand, "No sweetheart, let him be. This - this is something I don't even know if you can help him with. He needs some time to process this..." But all I want to do is go comfort him and be with him. I feel like this is all my fault, and I need to tell him. Then I realize that it is all my fault. Peeta's mother, father, and two brothers are dead because of me and my actions. All of District 12 is on fire because of me... I curl up into a ball and rest my head on Haymitch's shoulder. 'What have I done?...' is the only thought that echoes through my head...