Chapter 16

(Gale POV)

My legs keep moving long after I've lost feeling in them. My head feels dizzy and my stomach aches. We're so close to the pick up site now. Just a little more and we can get the hell out of here and I can get home to Madge. The group is running just as swiftly as I am still. These people, Seam people, are much easier to work with than that last town group I had. The town group didn't seem to understand that they had to hustle. These people though, know all too well what will happen if we miss this hovercraft or if we're caught.

We've covered too far a distance for us to be able to hear the whistles of the Peacekeepers anymore. I try not to think about what's happening now back in the Seam. Try hard not to picture the wrath that's being had upon innocent people who weren't lucky enough to escape. I know when this is all said and done that I'll feel guilt for not having moved faster. Guilt over having to leave people behind even though I knew going into this that would have to happen. I knew we couldn't save everyone. Wouldn't that have been better though? Wouldn't it have been great to see the look on Snow's face when he was informed that every trace of life in 12 had somehow disappeared? If all that remained where useless houses and belongings. Not a soul in sight. As if we'd all vanished into thin air? Yes. That would have been far more enjoyable than the reality. In reality, we only made a dent. Only saved a mere handful in comparison to those that Snow will kill as he destroys the district.

When the hovercraft is in sight, the engines are already roaring to life and the Medic is hanging out the door, furiously waving us toward him. Calling out to us. Yelling over the roar of the engines for us to hurry.

"Come on! We have to leave right now!" He screams at us.

My group launches themselves through the doorway and I throw myself through just as the door closes behind me. We literally used every second we could. Had we been 10 seconds slower, they would have had to leave without us. We would have been stranded out here in the woods of 12 until they could try and come for us again. And there's no way to know how long that could be. Hours, days. Maybe even months. Maybe never. God, I can't even think about it.

Once aboard, I collapse on the floor, unable to move, overtaken with exhaustion. I feel us begin to move. My eyes close. I don't even have the strength to hold them open. My breathing is labored and I start to lose consciousness as I feel the Medic tugging at my arm. Something pinching at my hand. Something warm moving up my arm, as if inside it somehow. And then, everything just goes black. Silent and still and black.

When I come too, my head is pounding and I no longer feel movement of the hovercraft. I'm in bed. I'm aware of a small hand in mine. My eyes open and adjust to the lights and I see Madge, her hand pressed into mine, asleep with her head resting on my bedside. She's here. Waiting for me. I gently squeeze her hand and she wakes suddenly, sitting upright instantly.

"Gale! You're awake!"

"Hey beautiful. Miss me?" I say with a grin. God, she's so incredibly beautiful to me that just the sight of her here, waiting for me to wake up sends my heart soaring.

She doesn't answer, just presses her lips to mine and kisses me. I pull her up onto the bed and she lays alongside me, still kissing me. She did miss me. I can tell. She really is falling for me again and this is proof of just how deeply she's falling.

"I was so worried you wouldn't make it back to me!" She finally says and tears spring to her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry. I'm here and everything is just fine. I'm not even hurt. Everything's just fine." I whisper as I hug her to me tightly. She sobs into my chest as I hold her.

"You weren't awake! You got back but you weren't awake. They sent for me and they told me you'd passed out on the way back. They had to give you oxygen and fluids but you still didn't wake up. When I got here, you were so still. You've been out for hours. It was so scary, Gale!" And she buries her face in my chest again.

"Hey, hey, stop. I promise I'm fine! I was just exhausted is all. It was a lot of running around and I just wore myself out. I'm not hurt, I'm fine. Totally fine." I reassure her as I hold her tight and run my hands through her hair.

A medic pops through the door and Madge sits up. "How are we feeling Mr. Hawthorne?" She asks as she undoes the iv that's been hooked to my hand.

"Good. I'm good."

"You should be alright to go home now. Seems you had a little bout of dehydration and some effects of exhaustion. We infused fluids and that should help the dehydration. You may have a lingering headache or dry mouth for a little while longer but those should fade over the next few hours. You're on work release for the next 24 hours, your supervisor has already been notified." She tells me as she scribbles on a chart and then has me sign myself out of the Medical Center. She's nice but seems hurried though maybe that's always how it is down here. Maybe that's just the way it works.

I slip my boots back on, hoping that I'll be able to just keep them this time instead of turning them back in. The medic doesn't seem to notice so I don't ask about it. Just tie them and then take Madge's hand as we head out of the Medical Center.

Once in the hallway, I realize why the medic seemed so hurried. The place is packed, people everywhere. Lined all along the hallways.

"What's going on?" I ask not really to anyone in particular.

"I think some of the people were injured trying to escape to the hovercrafts." Madge says quietly.

I look around, suddenly recognizing faces from 12. Seam mostly. No one looks to be overly injured. Seems like lots of blistered feet from all the running in footwear that was already in bad shape. Some exhaustion for those who weren't in great physical condition. Some just trying to warm up having nearly frozen without coats.

"Have you seen Katniss? Do you know if she made it back okay?" I ask Madge.

"No, I went straight to your room. We can try to find her if you want."

"Yeah, I just wanna make sure she made it back alright. It was kinda crazy there at the end."

I lead us over to the reception desk and wait for the clearly busy worker to acknowledge us. When he looks up finally, I ask about Katniss.

"Do you know if Katniss Everdeen has been here? She worked the rescue mission tonight."

He sighs. "Even if I knew, I couldn't tell you. That would be privledged information. If you have questions, you should address them directly to the Defense Department." His attitude urks me and I'm about to say something about it but Madge cuts me off.

"Thank you anyway." Madge says politely as she tugs my hand, leading me away. "Come on, we'll go ask Haymitch." She tells me as we exit.

In the defense department, there's a lot going on but nowhere near as much commotion as in the Medical Center. I ask at the front desk to speak with Haymitch and the worker tells us to have a seat. She then calls him to come out for us.

"Hey kiddo, let's talk a walk. Too much going on right now for me to deal with the trouble of getting you two clearance to come back to my office." He says as he appears before us and we follow him out of the Defense Department lobby. He leads us over to the stairwell before he turns to us.

"Alright. I know you're probably wanting to know how she is, if she's okay or not. I'll tell you what I know as of yet."

"Did something happen to Katniss?" I ask in alarm. He seemed all to ready for my arrival. Like he was waiting for me to come to him.

"She's in surgery. Should be out in about an hour or so. There was a whole lot of commotion there at the end of the mission. She was trying to gather her last group and they were just starting on the way back to the pick up site when a fight broke out between her group a few stragglers who'd followed them, hoping to join them. She attempted to break up the fight and was caught up in the scuffle, got knocked to the ground and then trampled a bit. Broke her leg. Shattered it actually. They're piecing her back together right now."

"Oh my God. How'd she manage to get back to the site like that?"

"A couple bigger guys in the group carried her. She had to tell em which way to go. Without her, they weren't getting anywhere."

"And the guys who started the fight? Did they make it back here?"

"Not that I know of. It's all still being looked into. All in all, she's lucky. Coulda been a lot worse. I suggest you get on home now and rest yourself."

"Thanks for the information. If you see her when she wakes up, will you tell her I asked about her? That I'll come see her later?"

"Sure thing kiddo." He says then he shuffles back towards the Defense Department without another word.

As I go over what he said, things flood back into my mind. The chaos and the craziness that was happening at the Seam. How they had so many people and how the Peacekeepers had been coming, blowing their whistles and furthering the panicked feeling at the fence. Haymitch is right. It really could have been a lot worse than a busted up leg. She's super lucky she was able to get out of there. I'm definitely gonna go talk to her tomorrow if she's up to it. If I know her though, she's gonna be all kinds of irritated about her leg and having to rest up for the next several weeks while it heals.

Once Madge and I are almost home, she stops us. "Gale, we should probably go let Rory know that you're okay."

"Rory? How'd he know about this? I didn't tell my family." I ask in surprise. I hadn't intentionally not told them, there just wasn't enough time to think about it.

"Prim told him about Katniss and when I told him you were busy on a project with her, he put two and two together figuring it out. He stayed with me all night until they sent for me saying you were back."

"He did?"

"Yeah, he was really great actually. Let me cry all over his shoulder and everything." She says looking both grateful and embarrassed.

"Good. You two always had some sort of special bond. I'm glad he stayed with you. Glad you weren't alone though I hate to hear that you were crying." It makes me happy to hear that Rory was there for her. I knew she'd be uneasy with me gone but I had no idea that she'd be so upset. And I do like knowing that she and Rory are becoming close again. The friendship they shared was important to both of them and I know Rory's missed that since Madge lost her memory.

She shrugs. "Couldn't help it. I was worried. More so than I expected I would be. As soon as you left, all I wanted was for you to come back."

"Well, no need to worry anymore. I'm back and I don't plan to go anywhere anytime soon. I won't leave you, I promise." I tell her as I squeeze her hand.

She smiles up at me and her face looks relieved but like there's something else there that I can't quite pinpoint. She looks away before I can figure it out. We walk to my family's home in silence. A comfortable one. A tired one. Once we let Rory know that I'm just fine, we head home to our own place.

Inside, I feel exhaustion creeping back up on me and the sight of my own bed only makes me feel it that much more. I'd love nothing more than to just crawl under those blankets and sleep for the next five hours however, I know I need to shower first. I kick off my boots and head into the bathroom. The steam of the shower and warm water is soothing on my tired body. I lean my forehead on the tile and let the water run over me. I don't think I've ever been so worn out in my life as I am right now. I turn off the water and dry off, pulling on pajama pants and a t-shirt.

Back out in the bedroom, I find Madge already in bed but still awake. I give her a smile before turning down the lights and collapsing on top of the bed. My pillow never felt so soft, I swear it. Madge just lays next to me, her fingers lightly tracing circles at the nape of my neck as I start to drift off. I'm almost asleep, so much so that I first think I must be dreaming when I hear her. But then I realize that I'm not. That I am awake and she did just utter those words I've so longed to hear her speak. I love you. Quiet as a whisper. I love you.