Hey everybody, I just want to thank all of you for reviewing! I am so grateful to all of you for encouraging me to write more, and thank you especially to my friends RuneScapien and HorribleHistories3, for always being there for me, and for keeping their promises and reading my fanfic. Thanks guys, you're the best!

But to all of you people that I don't even know- well, you guys are giving me this much appreciation, and you don't even know me! Thank you so much! *Okay, I'm getting emotional.* okay, enough of the soppy stuff, now down to business.

So I just want to respond to LivingReminder who reviewed, and also advised me not to make Peeta go crazy. I just want to let everyone know that I will not make him go crazy- if I'm honest, that hasn't even crossed my mind. But, I hope that you do like this other path I'm going to take.

Also, I just want to let you guys know that for all of you Gale and Katniss shippers, you will be meeting Gale in say, the next few chapters. So stick around! And as usual, reviews are my fuel- the more you review, the faster I type! I'm waiting! thanks and I hope you like this chapter!

Chapter 3

Let me help you

Peeta

I sat with Katniss in my arms for a while. I didn't hear anyone come into the arena till I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, and heard a melancholy voice in my ear.

"Come on son. Let her go now." I vaguely recognized the voice, but all I could see was my arms covered in Katniss's hair. Then I felt arms trying to pull her off me. I starting to shout and pull her away from the arms, but they seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"Peeta, come on now, think about it! You need to let her go!"

I didn't know who the voice was coming from, and at this point, I didn't even care. All I could think about right now was these hands trying to pull Katniss away from me, into the deep, darkness.

"STOP." The voice shouted, and the arms stopped where they were. They retreated as the voice said something more low, something that I couldn't hear. Satisfied that the arms were staying there, I pulled Katniss in for a hug, and just held her close. The voice said

"Peeta, you've got a couple of minutes left to say goodbye. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

"Good. Well, I'll… I'll leave you to it."

I knew that I only had a couple of minutes left, but the only way that I wanted to spend these last few minutes, was with her in my arms. After holding her against me for a while, I sighed, and let her go a little. I put her on the ground, and sensed that my time was running out. I smoothed the hair back from her head, and brushed away my tears that had fallen onto her cheeks. I leant down and gently, only brushing, let my lips touch her forehead. I kept my face level with hers as I whispered my final good bye.

"Katniss… sweetheart, I love you so, so much. Wherever you are now, I just… I just want you to be happy." I sniffed. " I'll find Prim. And your mother, and Gale, and everyone. And I'll tell them how brave you were. I don't know if they'll ever forgive me. But I hope they will. Katniss…baby, I love you…"

As she was lifted, and carried out of the Cornucopia, I put my three fingers to my heart, and I lifted, pointing them towards her. I felt everyone stand, and put their hands out toward her as well, and I felt so proud of my baby. I felt so, so proud of Katniss.

The next thing I knew, I was inside my room, in my bed. There was a knock at the door.

"Knock knock…" I rolled out of bed, not feeling anything at all. I opened the door halfheartedly and looked outside. It was Haymitch.

"Hey there sonny, I just wanted to see how you were er…" he trailed off as he saw the state of my bedroom. It had been less than a day since Katniss had… well, left us. I crawled back into my bed and groaned, implying that Haymitch leave me alone.

"Oh, come one boy, what's wrong with you?" he leaned down into my face, and surprisingly, I couldn't smell the alcohol on his breath. Then, he whispered something into my ear- low and soft, and if I didn't listen, I wouldn't have heard at all.

"Meet on the roof in 3 minutes. I have something you might want." I knew well enough not to show any reactions- the whole place could be bugged by now. I expected Haymitch to add something, but he suddenly got straight up, and smacked my shoulder. I flinched at his touch; however, he didn't seem to notice. He went on about how the meals seemed to be getting better and better, but I knew that this was a cover up. I kept my eyes trained on the brown board next to my bed, and when I heard the door shut, I realized that he had gone. Slowly, I dragged myself towards my pile of clothes that were dumped on my floor.

I met Haymtich on the roof within the next couple of minutes. I dropped myself down next to him and put my head into my hands.

"It's really nice out today, isn't it? I thought that it would rain, but it hasn't yet. But it will. Look. Look, ever there. Can you see Peeta?" he pointed out towards the horizon. "There's a storm coming. A huge one."

I started to get frustrated. Did he really call me up here so he could make small talk? Right now, I really did not want to talk about the weather right now.

"What do you want Haymitch?" I practically growled.

"Well, don't try to tip toe around my feelings!"

"Just shut up and get on with it."

Suddenly, his voice dropped in pitch, and in octave.

"The last few years have been really hard for me. What with all of those contestants, and year after year of them just disappearing inside the Hunger Games… well, I've had a hard time, and well, the Capitol kept loading me with drugs to keep me… alive. One year, it was particularly hard. That year, I went to the end and back… literally. That year, was the year that they made the Longentity drug- or the LIFE drug. It brings you back to life Peeta."

For some moments, I was speechless. I did not know what to say. So I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"Why are you telling me this Haymitch?"

"Because I kept them. After all these years, I kept them, for no particular reason, and I want you to have them. Please." He got up, and shook my hand, saying good-bye, and slipping something into them at the same time. I closed my hands around the tiny pills, and started to make up my plan.

Haymitch was right. A storm had come. The rain was pattering down on my windows, and it almost felt like I was back in the Hunger Games, in the cave, with Katniss in my arms. But that's what I didn't have. Katniss in my arms. But I was going to get her. I ran outside, eager to get into the hospital sector, where they were keeping Katniss until they moved her into the morgue. I quickly entered, and stood at one end of the long, empty room, my eyes searching for my love. Finally, I found her, and as soon as I did, I ran up to her. I looked down at her, and noticed a stray hair. Cinna had put make up on her- her burial was going to be televised, so she was supposed to look as beautiful as she could. I kissed her on her forehead, before pulling the drugs out of my pocket. I dropped it into her mouth, and sat her up, making sure that it went down her throat. Haymtich didn't tell me how long the whole process was supposed to take, so I took my chances, and pulled up a chair next to her bed. After a few hours of watching her, I felt my eyelids start to droop. I knew I shouldn't sleep, but I couldn't help it. I leaned down, and rested my head on the side of her waist, and let myself drift off to a dream world, a beautiful dream-world where my love and I walked hand-in-hand down a sunsetting beach.