Gale's POV
I wake, feeling stiff and confused. Blinking, I take in the sunlight streaming through the small window in my hospital room. I attempt to shift, but grimace when I feel a sharp pain shoot through my body. Turning my head, I see machines, beeping and blinking placidly, tubes strung everywhere. Never in my life did I think that it would be me in this position. I feel so warm, too, almost suffocatingly warm. I feel something shift against me, and turning my head in the other direction, realize that Katniss is laying half on top of me in this tiny hospital bed.
I can't help the tiny smile that breaks forth from seeing her sleeping peacefully. Snippets of our conversation from last night come back to me, but I can't remember enough to build an understanding of what exactly happened. The last thing I clearly can remember is lunging towards her to knock her away from the angry swarm of tracker jackers. Then everything was darkness. I vaguely remember hearing screaming but, I realize with a groan, that very well could have been me. Lifting my arm, I softly brush my fingers up and down Katniss' back, half hoping to wake her so I could look into her eyes and know that everything was going to be alright. She grumbles and tries to maneuver herself into a more comfortable position. When she can't find one, she opens her eyes. I feel a rush of joy when I see that her eyes focus on me and light up. She is a woman of few words, but her eyes always betray her.
"Gale, you're awake! How are you feeling? Can I get you anything? What do you need?" She scrambles into a sitting position, her eyes sweeping me up and down, trying to assess my state. I can't help but chuckle at her obvious concern. "Katniss-come lay back down. I need you, that's all." I try to keep the laughter out of my voice, lest I upset her, but I can't keep the crooked smile from my face. Her face clouds and her lips press together. I can tell I've embarrassed her.
"Come on, baby," I cajole. Lifting the arm she was just laying on, I motion for her to resume her spot. She doesn't budge. I move to lift my right arm to grab her, but am confused when nothing happens. Trying once more, my face screws with effort, but still nothing happens. Katniss looks down to see what I'm doing and her face changes from amused petulance to horror in nothing flat.
"Gale, don't," she says softly. "There's something I didn't get to tell you last night." My face fills with dread, knowing instinctively what she is going to tell me, yet willing it not to be true. "The mine that you stepped on was a bomb and it did a lot of damage to your right side. Your arm hasn't recovered yet." She swallows and I know that the worst part is yet to come. "Gale, they said it might never recover. I'm so sorry." Her head hangs and I can tell she is attempting to hide the tears that are slowly sliding down her cheeks. I feel my eyes pool with water, but quickly swallow the instinct. Grabbing her wrist, I pull her down next to me and tip my head up to gently press a kiss to her lips. "Catnip, stop. We'll figure everything out. It's what we do, baby." She nods and nuzzles her head back into that nook where her head fits so perfectly.
We lay like that for awhile, but my mind is racing. No right arm? How will I hunt? What am I going to do now? I can't just sit and be idle forever. I need the chase, the hunt, to keep me happy. My thoughts grow darker, but Katniss reaches up her hand and runs her fingers through my hair. I look down and she's staring at me, her eyes wide and filled with sorrow and, what? Desire? I feel my blood quicken and one of the machines starts to beep more frequently as it registers the uptick in my heartbeat. Both of us glance over and break into relieved laughter.
"I guess there's no hiding what we're doing here, Catnip." I joke. She grins indulgently and pushes herself up so that she's level with my face. Her next words shock me and fill me with the warmest, most fulfilling feeling I've ever experienced. "I love you Gale Hawthorne. So much." She kisses me, innocently at first, then harder as we both meet each other and pour the stress of our fighting and the mine explosion into our kiss. Our mouths tease and push each other to new heights. I feel myself growing beneath her and I twist a bit so that my groin is pressed to her hip. She gasps against my mouth and her eyes fly open, widening at what I'm suggesting.
To both of our surprise and to my chagrin, a nurse bursts into the room, interrupting us. "Mr. Hawthorne—your meters are out of control!" she says, before she takes in the compromising situation both Katniss and I are in. Comprehension dawns on her face, followed quickly by a deep red flush. "My goodness! Mr. Hawthorne, you should be resting, not exerting yourself!" she says sternly. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask Ms. Everdeen to leave if you can't contain yourself. As it is, she should not be in the bed with you. She could easily disrupt some of the machinery and then you'd be in real trouble!" I suppress a shout of laughter as the nurse busies herself with checking my wires, pulse, and blood pressure. Katniss climbs off of the bed, but not before she grazes my lips with one more soft kiss. Planting herself in a chair well across the room, she draws her legs up and makes herself comfortable. We both eye each other hungrily, knowing that we have unfinished business.
The nurse clears her throat and gives me an evil eye as she stalks out of the room. The minute the door closes, we both erupt into hysterical laughter. I can't help but admire Katniss' brilliant smile. I haven't seen her smile like that in so long and its reappearance brings me a rush of relief. We're going to be ok, I think to myself.
The next few days are a whirl of nurse checks, physical therapy, and horrible hospital meals. By the fifth day, I am itching to get up out of this bed and walk out the doors into the sunlight. Katniss has been such a wonderful support, but I'm ready to get back to my life, whatever that entails now. I still have no feeling in my right arm, but I'm learning how to cope. And the doctor has said that it might just be a matter of time. Hopefully I just sustained a shock to my system and I'll regain full usage.
Finally, my discharge day dawns bright and hopeful. Katniss busies herself gathering my things while I wait for the final paperwork to be signed and filed so that I can get out of this place. We move about the room with the assuredness of two people who are completely comfortable with each other, I note with pleasure. We've always been comfortable, but this is different, somehow. It seems that, sometime through this horrendous process, we've finally decided to give ourselves to each other wholeheartedly, and I couldn't be happier.
She bends over the small rucksack I have for my clothes, and when she straightens, I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her back against me. I trail kisses down her neck, and she places her hand over mine on her stomach. Turning, she places her arms around my neck and, smiling, tilts her head up for a kiss. I'm only too happy to oblige.
When we break apart, I gaze down into her eyes and I'm dumbstruck by the love and acceptance that shines there. "Catnip—you are everything. I love you more than you'll ever know. I'm here because of you and I'll stay because of you." I lean down once more and kiss her deeply.
"Gale, I didn't know what I was missing until we gave this a chance. I know I don't say it often, and sometimes it's hard for me to express myself, but I love you. Every day in every way." She smiles up at me and rests her head on my shoulder. Her words send chills through my body and I don't think that I could be more fulfilled if I tried.
An idea pops, unbidden, into my mind. Katniss is my one and only. She's it for me. And I want to spend the rest of my life making her happy.
Grinning, I lean down so that my lips are level with her ear. "Marry me," I whisper.