A/N: To be honest I was a little sad to only have one review, but maybe I'll get more as I post more? But thank you sooo uch to Ojsmybestfriend. That review made me smile a lot, and I promise that I'll reply when the site let's me. It apparently take 24 hours before a user can submit a PM. But,without further stalling, here's the third chapter! I'll post the fourth when I get at least 4 reviews (:

As I pass the desolate streets, the only people greeting me are the one's long gone. My family, maybe, watch me as I travel the charred streets, or perhaps Madge, the mayor's daughter. Or maybe none of them cared anymore.

It was, after all, my fault that they were dead.

Maybe if I hadn't agreed with Katniss' suicide scheme and just shoved the Nightlock in my mouth, everything would have been easier. If not for Katniss, then surely for all of the people who were now nothing but remains of a District that once was, and forgotten memories. There weren't even tombstones in the Meadow. All of these families, buried and lost, go unrecognized without so much as a name. Surely some survivor could put a title on a half-decayed face, right?

Dismissing the thought, I continued down the streets of the poverty line that separated the Seam from the Merchant. It was a narrow, dusty road that, on one side, held low-key medicinal shops and an apothecary. On the other, bakeries, clothing stores, and a barber shop lined the sidewalk. I literal line that drew the difference between the wealthy and the poor. Luckily, I'd been on the richer side.

I didn't quite know of the struggles that the Seam faced before the Reaping, either. And even now, I don't know much. The only information I had was what I'd seen with my own eyes, and what Katniss had vented about to me. I wish she'd still do that. I liked hearing about all of her problems. I liked trying to help her mend them. Or if it was a wound from her past, I liked to hold her with her head o my chest and my fingers tracing patterns n her arm. I think she enjoyed it too. It was our way of bonding on those stressful nights that we shared while on the train. Not to mention us sleeping together, with my arms forming a barrier between anything that tried to hurt her.

Nostalgia. Sweet, sweet nostalgia.

After that, I decided to go home. The medicine the doctor had given me seemed to work very well, and I hadn't had a fit in a week. I decided that, tonight, I'd go over to see Katniss and tell her how great I felt. Maybe if she thought that I was 'stable' she'd treat me normally again.

Or, I guess, maybe she wouldn't.

In about 15 minutes, I found myself getting into the shower to prepare for our meeting. It didn't feel right to call it a date, since it was still a surprise to her. But I'd decided to bring her some Tiger Lillies (which I found out she liked because of my cupcakes) and to dress fairly nicely. So other than the fact that Katniss was completely oblivious, this was by all means a date.

After hopping out of the shower and drying off, I got dressed into a pale blue button-up shirt with some black slacks. I quickly hurried to Katniss' door, flowers in hand.

This time, I only had to knock once.

"Peeta!" She exclaimed. Her face seemed tired, and the darkness under her eyes said that she hadn't been sleeping. And was I crazy, or did her eyes seem puffy?

"Uh- hey there, Katniss," I smiled. "I haven't had a fit in a week. The doctor says I might be done with them."

"That's... That's great," she replied, hugging me. "So I don't have to pretend anymore?"

"You never had to. But no, you don't," I answered her. She could tell that I knew from last time.

"So, are you gonna tell me what's wrong or do I have to ask?" I prodded.

Then, Katniss completely broke down. She grabbed my shirt with her hands in fists and started crying against my chest. Unsure of what t do, I rested my hand o the back of her head and began slowly stroking her hair.

"Shhhh... Katniss... It's okay," I whispered, in an attempt at comforting her. It didn't work.

"Peeta you don't get it!" She yelled, startling me, "Today is P-Prim's birthd-" Her voice faltered and she didn't get to finish her sentence, but I could figure it out.

"Oh- Katniss, hey, come here," I cooed, "it's going to be okay. I'm here for you."

I slowly moved us from the doorway to her couch and sat down. Her head still lay across my torso, and one of my hands continued petting her hair while the other rubbed her back in circles that sometimes transformed into lines before going back to circles.

"She- she... Peeta, she was just too young. I'd done so much to protect her, and I let her die."

"Katniss, don't say that. Please. Don't believe that even for a second. You had absolutely no idea about the bombs... And even if you knew, it wouldn't be your fault. It was just fate, and there's nothing we can do to change that. Besides, don't you think Prim would want you to be happy on her birthday?"

She nodded before a fresh stream of tears fell down her face.

The night settled in pretty quickly, and we were in the same position as before. Katniss had stopped crying and fallen asleep about an hour ago, and I gently got up to leave.

"Peeta," she muttered, hardly awake, "Please don't go. Stay with me."

I went back to the couch and crouched down, so that my face was right next to hers. Closing my eye, I planted a soft kiss on her forehead, as well as between her eye brows.

"Always." I mumbled after her. "But you need to get to your bed." She nodded, agreeing with me, but made no move to get up. I soon found myself carrying Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, upstairs to her bedroom.

And I, for one, couldn't have been any happier.

I lay her down carefully in her bed, and pulled the covers up to her stomach. She quickly fell back to sleep after I picked her up, and probably didn't even notice that I'd put her in her room. I felt like I was, in some way, taking advantage of her. Comforting her while she cried, but still feeling satisfied about it.

But a promise was a promise, and I crawled into bed with her, positioning one arm under her neck as a pillow so her head could rest on my chest, while the other wrapped around her small frame.

Here is the place where I love you.