The next morning, I wake up bright and early to Katniss pounding on our front door. Quickly, I fall out of bed and rush to the door, trying to get her to shut up before she wakes up the entire district.
"What?" I hiss once the door is open and she glares before pulling me back in the hall, eyes blaring.
"You missed like four meetings yesterday! Coin is pissed!" I'm a bit shocked that she noticed. Lately, she's been worried about Mellark nearly strangling her. I'm not even going to try to go talk to him. That'd be a pleasent visit.
"I was busy, okay? It was a long day and I needed a break." I respond quickly, half lying through my teeth. I was busy, with Madge. Just the thought of her makes me want to go make sure she's still here and not an illsion, to make sure she's still breathing. "And why is Coin so mad? It was just a few meetings."
"A few meetings? A few meetings?! They were about the war and stuff like that!"
"Okay, okay, I'll go today. Now can you please let me sleep for at least one more hour? Sleeping is not my forte lately." I tell her and it's true. Last night I was awoken maybe four times thinking that Madge was dead or something. Then I realized that she was okay and alive. Then there was that one dream that kept me up for an hour, just thinking about it.
The mines collapsed. I was in them when they did. Tons of rock on top of me, suffocating me, causing me to breathe in more coal dust than I already have. A rock hit my ankle, causing it to twist slightly. I'm deeper in the mine than normal 19 year olds.
I can hear the moaning of pain from the men around me and Thom keeps trying to get them to yell for help to get out. They know we're here, surely they do. There's several of us stuck under the rock. I can barely hear the sirens from down here, we're so far under.
There's only one thought that keeps me going, the only thing that allows me to want to get back out: Madge.
I had neglected her for months and months because she gave me morphling. She was trying to keep me alive, and if I die now when she risked her life to come to give me medicine, I'm gonna practically kill myself.
I know now that I love her. I love Madge Undersee. I never thought I would say that. Ever. I thought it was going to be Katniss, I really did. I know that it's not now. She's gone, going back to the arena. Madge is... Madge is more than I could have ever asked for, and all this time I've been pushing her away when I should have been bringing her closer.
We sit there for hours, inhaling the smoke and dust and unhealthy fumes until someone finally finds us. We're the last group found. There's a pile of bodies by the elevator shaft and I can't help but think that that could've been me. Or Thom. Or anyone.
I'm in the last elevator with Thom and one more man. His head is slightly bleeding. Thom just looks ready to get out of the stupid mines before they collapse again. There's even more coal dust in the shaft and we cough and hack up our lungs the entire times.
Finally, when the shafts open and semi fresh air and sunlight hit us, I feel like I can breathe again, but I still cough and I cough as Posy jumps at me and clings to me. Then comes Rory and Vick. Then my mother. They all just hold me for a moment before my mother looks at me and then looks away to where a retreating figure with golden hair is walking away, wringing her hands.
"Go talk to her." She tells me sternly. "She's been waiting here for hours, scared out of her wits. She needs you. And by the looks of it, you need her too." I nod quickly before slowly lumbering after her. I catch her as she turns from the mines.
"Madge," I choke out turning her by her shoulder, "Madge." I pull her into my arms, wrapping her petite frame in my arms, breathing in her scent, the way she feels, everything. "I love you." I finally choke out to her and she looks at me, with teary eyes. She has coal dust on her face and she looks so damn adorable that slowly, I kiss her, before she can respond.
She doesn't know what to respond with, I know she doesn't. I had just ignored her for months and all of the sudden I'm kissing her? Odd, I can imagine. Finally, she does something other than stand there and she finally links her arms around my neck, tugging me downward, closer to her. I break the kiss before I can get to carried away; she needs to know I love her.
"I love you, Madge. Yes, I love you." I tell her again when she shakes her head. "Yes, you. Only you, Madge. All I could think about down there was you, and had I not made it I never would've been able to tell you I'm sorry and-"
"Gale," she cups my face, "I love you, too."
"Gale?" Katniss snaps her fingers in front of my face looks irritated as I snap back to reality. "What is wrong with you? Ever since we're gotten here, you've been acting weird, not talking and stuff. And now you seem even weirder."
"I'm fine, Catnip. Just haven't slept very well." Not a lie. I haven't really since I thought Madge died. And now I was up all night worrying about her. "Can I go back to bed now?"
She huffs, "Fine. Make sure you're at today's meeting. Coin will skin you if you aren't." She turns on her heel and stalks away from me and I sigh before walking back into our 'house.'
Madge's heart stopped twice last night. The poison spread a little. When I went to see her before the meeting, the doctor wouldn't let me in, saying that she needed recovery time from heart failure.
I'm still shaking when I get to Command. Madge's heart stopped. Twice. She nearly died. Again. When I enter the room, Coin glares at me, Finnick raises an eyebrow and Haymitch smirks. I give him a look and he smirks more. God, I wish he wouldn't have found out about us. Hell, I really wish he hadn't.
"Mr. Hawthorne, how nice of you to finally join us." She drones, still glaring. "We missed you when you didn't come for four meetings.
Hell, she knows. She knows about Madge and how we're together. God, I know she knows. I can tell when she stares at me.
"Sorry." I finally force out and her silver eyes narrow.
She ignores my comment. "We're here right now to discuss about Mr. Mellark." Katniss tenses next to me. Last I had heard, he was not getting any better at all. Still thinks Katniss is a mutt. But he did start on Finnick and Annie's wedding cake. I haven't seen it, but I know Mellark is a good baker. Yeah, it kills me to say that.
The meeting goes on, with Coin occasionally shooting glares at me and me pretending I don't notice. All I want to do is get out of here to see if Madge is okay.
There is one thing that catches my attention. When Coin says that she knows some people who can maybe help Mellark.
She slides the folders over to Katniss who opens the first one up. Delly Cartwright. She can help. Katniss nods numbly before closing the folder and opening the next one. I'll say I'm a bit shocked when I see the name 'Madge Undersee' staring back at me.
I don't want her in there with Mellark. He nearly strangled Katniss, what if he tries the same thing with Madge?
Katniss's voice breaks me out of my thoughts. "Madge? I thought she was dead."
You and me both, I think to myself. "Where is she?" Katniss asks, staring down at Madge's folder. I really hope it doesn't say anything.
"In the hospital. She came over the border about 24 hours ago. Currently healing up." Coin responds, staring at me.
"When can I see her?"
"You can go right after the meeting. Go with Mr. Hawthorne."
Shit.
The meeting goes by fast after, much faster than I would like. I'm restless. Haymitch can see me fidgeting. He smirks and my eyes narrow as the meeting ends.
Katniss drags me by the wrist down to the hospital. I already know where her room is, so I just follow Katniss down to where she is. It seems that Katniss gets more leway because she's allowed in without a second glance.
Madge is tired. I know that when I follow Katniss wearily into the room. There are bags under her eyes and she looks paler than she was when I left her last night. She looks like she's in serious pain. Everytime she breathes, a shock of pain courses up her body. I can tell by the way that she winces every few seconds.
"Madge!" Katniss calls out and she alerts her eyes to Katniss, and then me quickly before her eyes go back to Katniss as she forces a smile.
"Hi." She croaks out and then coughs quickly into her sleeve. I wish I could take all of the pain from her. I would gladly take it from her any day so she would be fine, even if it meant I had poison in me.
"What happened to you? We thought you were dead!" Katniss is actually getting teary eyed. Wow. Never thought I'd say that.
"A lot of people did." She chokes out and then coughs again. I know I was one of those people. I still can't believe that she's here. She's dying, though. That's the thing. If she actually dies, when I knew she was alive and I held her, I honestly don't know what I'd do. Possibly die.
I hadn't realized that Katniss had been nudging me for the past minute or so.
"What?" I spout out and she glares while Madge bites her lip to prevent from laughing at me.
"I said, aren't you going to say hello?" She crosses her arms and taps her foot on the ground, to imply that she's annoyed.
I stare at Katniss for a minute and then turn to Madge. "Hi." I tell her crosses my arms and locking my jaw. I wink at her slightly so she knows I'm teasing. She catches it, thank God.
"Thanks for the concern." She says cooly, trying to sit up but wincing and finding out that she cannot manage that.
"Madge, they want you to go see Peeta." Katniss says, getting to the point. Way to crack the whip, Katniss, way to crack the whip.
"Peeta? What's wrong with him?" She asks, looking concerned.
Katniss chokes on her words. "He's been hijacked."
"Hijacked?"
"He thinks Katniss is a mutt. Tried to starangle her." I finish for Katniss, who is unable to form words at the moment.
"Why?" Madge's eyes bulge out of her head and she winces again.
"He was taken by the Capitol." Katniss chokes again. I hate how Madge has to hear about this now. She just got here, she doesn't want to hear it. "After the arena blew up."
I can still see the fire raining down on everyone and the destruction. Madge's old house comes into view and I have to shake my head to get the image out of my head.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Madge whispers and Katniss takes a breath.
"I have to go. I'm not feeling well." And then she scurries out of the room, forgetting I'm here.
"Well that was amusing." Madge forces out and I look at her. She's really weak, I can tell. I cross the room and sit in the chair I sat in last night.
"Your heart stopped twice. Twice, Madge." I finally speak and she looks away from me, at the ceiling, blinking away tears.
"I know. I know, Gale." She cries out and then she's in my arms again. I'm careful not to hurt her. She's in enough pain as it is. "I don't want to die, Gale."
"I don't want you too either. I just found you again, I cannot lose you again. It nealy killed me the first time. I won't let you die, okay? I'll do everything in my power to prevent it, okay?" I mumur into her hair and I feel her nod against my chest. "I'm sorry you had to hear about Peeta."
She shrugs, with great pain. "Do they want me to see him?"
"Yeah. I don't want you in there with him, though. I don't want him to freak out and try to strangle you too." I tighten my arms around her and she shifts into my lap, her hands slipping around to my back. I immediately tense; I still wake up from shocks of pain in my back. Madge is the only one who I actually allow to touch the scars, they're so horrible.
"I honestly don't think you'd let him strangle me." She whispers into my chest and I have to smile. If he even lays a finger on her, he's gonna wish the Capitol would have kept him.
A/N: Sorry if this took forever, school been slamming me and track has been draining me mentally. Hope y'all like it! I would really appreaciate it if you reviewed today(: Also, sorry if the update isn't up to par, losing inspiration.