A/N: Alrighty, next chapter! I'm going to keep this author's note shorter than the other ones I've had.

I want to clarify something since a few reviews have been asking if this is going to change into a Gale-Katniss story. It's not. I wouldn't have put Peeta and Katniss as the pairing for this story if that was the case and then this would also be considered as an AU but since I'm going with Mockingjay, I'm keeping it as a KatnissxPeeta story. I love Peeta, I think he's probably one of my most favourite fictional characters. Drama. I had to add some of that into the mix because really, what's a story without drama? Right? If you want me to reply to your questions in the review you leave, please leave a SIGNED review.

Also thank you to all my awesome reviewers! I'm writing this and getting this out quicker because of all the reviews I've gotten in just a day! So this is for you guys and I hope you enjoy it! YAY DRAMA!

This chapter is UNEDITED. Still trying to find a beta. If you know anyone, please refer them!

Alright, so casting for Catching Fire. Who'd you like to see play Beetee, Wiress, Annie and Mags? Leave your ideal casts in a review!

A Lullaby to Soothe the Demons Within

Chapter 11

3 Years 3 Months since Returning to District 12

Katniss' POV

1 day later...

My limbs are sore, my head is pounding and I can still feel the sting on my cheek from the palm that had connected with it last night. I have to slowly rise from the couch I'm on, stretching my cramped muscles as I move. I hear my bones crack as I finally get into a sitting position on the soft cushions. I wonder if I'm the only one awake right now.

I suppose I should back up a bit to the night before and explain how I ended up in this small house that wasn't my own.

After I had run out the back gate of our house I had run. Only one place had come to mind as my bare feet carried me off in the night. I made my way as quick as possible, not looking back, to Gale's. More specifically I wanted to see Hazelle, the only parent figure I had in District Twelve now. For whatever reason Gale hadn't really crossed my mind, I didn't even think about whether I'd see him or not as I went there. I just knew for the time being I had to get away from Peeta and let him sort himself out. I doubt he'd be able to face me when he came to and I think the guilt would just eat him up if he saw the fear in my eyes, which I know were there last night.

I finally saw their house in my view and used whatever energy I had left to make my way there. I went up the three steps to reach their door and knocked. I waited and waited until finally the door opened. I was greeted by Rory. I let out a sigh mentally that Gale hadn't answered.

"Kat? What are you doing here? It's late." He sounded so much like Gale it was almost uncanny. I shook my head at him, I could feel the tears forming behind my eyes but I refused to give in.

"I- well, Peeta had another episode. I just- well I don't really know why I am here." I saw the knowing look flash through his eyes and all of a sudden it made sense. Peeta was suffering through them regularly during the day, when I wasn't around.

"Come on in." I was glad he didn't say anything else.

Posy was already asleep along with Vick. Hazelle was at the kitchen table, sewing something that I couldn't see. Gale was no where to be seen. Rory lead me into the warm room and told me to sit on the couch. Hazelle finally looked over to me and immediately set down the needle and thread along with the cloth, walking over to me and sitting next to me, touching the tender flesh on my cheek with her withered fingers gently.

"Oh honey, are you ok?" This is why I came here. For her caring words and warm embrace, again the thing I was missing about my own mother at the moment. Seeing her a while back had only made me realize how much I missed her. I felt a warm, salty tear fall then. Anything I kept in finally poured out at that touch. Tears began to flow freely as warm, motherly arms wrapped around me, pulling me in for a tight embrace.

I hadn't noticed Rory come back with a warm cup of tea as I cried freely into Hazelle's chest. Her hands trailed soothing circles along my back, whispering comforting words to me as she let me have my moment. I heard her ask Rory what was wrong, could feel the rumble of her voice in her chest.

"Peeta's been having some problems with flashbacks lately." His words only confirmed what I saw in his eyes and I wanted to cry harder. Peeta hadn't even said anything to me and I hadn't bothered to ask. She didn't ask any more than that as I held me close while I cried. I only remember falling asleep in her embrace that night before I awoke this morning on the soft couch.

I finally decided to get up and stretch out my tense muscles.

"Morning honey, would you like some tea?" I am jump at the soft voice that comes from the kitchen. I hadn't seen Hazelle in there and feel a little bad for jumping. I slowly walk over to the table that stands in the kitchen with six chairs around it. I pulled one out and sat down quietly.

"Yes, tea would be nice." I feel the burn in my eyes from crying last night, I wonder how red they were. I decide I should ask her about him. I didn't feel like any more surprises right now. "Is Gale here?" She's already turning around with two steaming cups of the warm tea and setting one in front of me while she sits across from me, setting her cup down in front of her..

"He already left this morning. You were already asleep when he got in last night." I blow on the hot liquid and nod at her, taking a sip of the soothing tea. "He was surprised to see you here. I hear you two still haven't really spoken?" I knew eventually this would come about. No matter how much I talked to her and her children, besides Gale, eventually she would bring him up because he was still her child and at one point in our lives we had been very close.

I set the mug down before I speak, trying to find the words to describe the situation without upsetting her. "It's been.. complicated."

"He misses you, you know?" Between last night and this conversation this morning I don't know how much more I can handle.

"I know. So much has happened though. Seeing him in such a grim reminded of-"

"Of her?"

I nod at her, silently thankful she doesn't actually say Prim's name out loud.

"Do you know for sure he was the cause of it? I'm not trying to defend him hun, but from what I've been told that situation was hard to say who's fault it was." I realize that I don't face him because of the cause of Prim's death but because seeing him was a reminder that she was gone. Seeing him only made me see Prim, when she'd go on his shoulders while we wondered around the Hob, tell her stories, teach her things about plants that I didn't know about. He took care of her and he was so much better with kids, with have three younger siblings and all.

"It's not that. Seeing him only... makes her death so official." I feel her hand grasp mine and give it a squeeze. It's the first time I'm opening up to someone about Prim who isn't Peeta.

"You need to make peace with it. You'll never move on if you can't honour her death properly. Have you talked to your mother?" I nod, taking in her words at first and replaying them in my head, letting my mind wrap around the meaning to them.

We turn in unison as the front door opens and Gale is standing there, staring at the two of us at the kitchen table. I figured he'd be working with Thom right now if he was gone. He says nothing as he steps into the house and over to the kitchen, grabbing a mug and pouring the dark liquid that's coffee into it before sitting down at the table with us. His eyes say nothing and I can tell he's got his own mask in place.

"Where did you head out to this morning?" Hazelle breaks the awkward silence between us then and I'm thankful. I take my own mug back between my hands and begin to sip the cooled down tea now, keeping my eyes down so I don't have to meet his own gaze.

"I tried to go talk to Peeta this morning, but he wasn't at work, didn't answer his door either." I dart my eyes up to meet his own smouldering grey ones, anger quickly rising in me at his initiative to interfere with my life once more.

"Why were you even seeking him out Gale?" I can hear the venom in my voice as I speak his name. His mother says nothing as we stare each other down. I think she's already left the table to leave us to hash this out ourselves.

"Have you seen the bruise he left on your face?" He spits back at me, the anger dripping in his own deep voice.

"He had an episode. It wasn't him."

"Oh yeah, and what about the bruises on your body." I open my mouth to retort but shut it quietly, feeling self conscious all of sudden at the bite marks left by Peeta's mouth on my body. I had enjoyed those, quite a bit. "Exactly! What he's doing to you isn't-"

"Those... those marks are none of your business Gale! And my cheek is fine, shit happens. I just didn't get out quick enough before his episode got the best of him. It's not his fault he's like that, he's a lot better now than he use to be-"

"That's not a life to live Katniss! He's dangerous-"

"What do you know about dangerous? You know nothing about our lives here! You think coming back after years of being gone and then staying for a few months means you know everything? These marks," I stand up and pull the collar down on my shirt to expose the love bites that adorn my tender flesh of my neck. "I like those. Things change-"

"What he did to you last night wasn't right." We're done cutting each other's sentence off now and I stop to gather my breath once more, I'm fuming now and I can tell he's not ready to back down yet. I see him standing up as well now and moving towards me. I refuse to move and hold my ground and he stands before me. "Since when do you condone violence like this?" I feel his hand touching my cheek and the expression on his face has changed. I don't bother to push it away, he'd just move it back to this position again as soon as I did.

"Things have changed Gale, I'm not the same person that you use to know in the woods. That little girl is long since gone. Just like you're not the same boy I met in the forest, just like Peeta isn't he same boy I met when we were reaped. We're all different and not everything is the best of changes. But I rather stay by his side a million times and be hit then ever leave him." And I feel it then, the tension I had held where Gale was concerned be released. I almost felt Prim touch me as a wave of peace washed over me. I was tired of being angry. I just wanted to go home to Peeta, to see if he was ok. Knowing he'd be at home, alone made my heart hurt a little more.

"Not everything has changed." I hear Gale whisper quickly, his hand still holding my cheek. I wanted him to back off and decided I'd have to make that move. I wanted to go home now.

"It has, for me anyways. I need to go, I want to go home. Peeta needs me." As I step back he takes a step forward and now I wonder what his game is. Before I am able to stop his actions he's pulling me to him, lips feathering over my lips in just the briefest of a kiss.

"I still love you." He tries to go in for another kiss and this time I'm able to push him away. I subconsciously wipe my lips on the back of my hand as I look at him. I can see the hurt cross his face at the motion.

"I love Peeta. It's always been him. Maybe at one point I had feelings for you Gale, when we were younger. But Peeta is all I want and need."

"The one you can't survive without?" I nod, remembering a long time ago, in that cold basement of Tigris' little shop, hovering in between sleep and consciousness, listening to him and Peeta speak of me briefly before sleep over took me once more.

I leave the house, wondering if his entire family heard our conversation. Probably not, Rory was probably running the bakery in Peeta's absence. The heels of my feet are sore from running on the ground and I'm reminded of last night once more when I make my way back to the victor's village in my bare feet. I see the houses coming in view and decide to start running, wanting nothing more then to see Peeta now, to comfort him and tell him that every thing was going to be ok.

I get to the door and push it open. It's dark, the curtains drawn in all the rooms and I wonder where he is.

"Peeta?" I call out to the dark and decide to start in the living room, opening the curtains to let in the morning light. I'm greeted with Haymitch's limp body on our couch, passed out. No surprise and I don't even question why he's at our house right now. The answer is obvious. Still no Peeta though.

"Peeta?" I call out once more and move to the kitchen next. I stop at the entry way when I see all the broken glass on the floor along with any items that had been on the table and counters. Most of the times are broken on the floor, usually after his episode he'd clean up the mess he made. Worry is starting to set in when I still don't see him.

I leave the mess behind as I now make my way up to the stairs to our room. The door is shut and I wonder if he is in there. I turn the door knob and open the door slowly, the room is also dark, curtains drawn. "Peeta?" I step into the room, making my way to the window to draw the curtains back, allow the natural light to brighten the room a bit. I turn back around and look the room over. I'm about the leave when I see movement behind the bed, in the corner and then a voice.

"Katniss?" It's raspy and quiet. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see blue eyes meet my own, I made my way over to him immediately.

"What are you doing up here, hiding?" I can see the red outline in his eyes, cuts covering his palms as his hands stay folded on his knees.

"I couldn't sleep last night, and then you didn't come home... I thought I had really hurt you." I see his eyes taking in my face and then turning away as they scan the bruise on my cheek, tears already getting ready to spill over. I can't bare the pain I'm seeing in the deep blues and move so that I'm kneeling over him, wrapping my arms around him to cradle his head against my chest.

"I'm fine. I just ended up falling asleep before I could help it. See? I'm ok." I hear a sob break through the quiet room as his tears soak into my shirt. My heart breaks a little more, seeing our roles reversed like this only makes his pain that much more for me. "Shh. It's ok, so stop worrying. We just need to talk about this. We'll get through this, ok? It's all going to be ok." I'm going around in circles as I speak, unable to stop the words from leaving my mouth. I just want him to be ok, to stop crying, to make him better. I feel so helpless as I rock him in my arms while he cries. What was I suppose to do? I can't even get the right words to make this better, he was the one who usually was in this position, comforting me while I cried to him. It's a while before we move from our position on the ground.

"Did you see Gale?" I startle at the question and look up from my place on the ground as I sweep up more glass off the floor. I made Peeta come down and sit at the table, giving him a glass of water to drink while I cleaned up the kitchen. I could tell out of the two of us that he was the one who hadn't slept last night. The bags were dark under his eyes, only making the sadness in his eyes that much more clear. I find no reason not to be honest. Isn't that what we were suppose to do, be honest with each other? Haymitch was long gone by now before we had made our way back downstairs. Probably worried about his geese being alone for so long.

"I saw him this morning, he wasn't there when I got to Hazelle's house last night." I go back to sweeping up the glass and bits of food that littered our floor.

"Did you two talk?" I hear the apprehension in his voice.

"We did." I don't want to elaborate on it because I was still a bit mad at him for kissing me once and then trying to kiss me a second time and then try to convince me that my relationship with Peeta was wrong. "He kissed me." I almost didn't want to say it but I figured he had a right to know.

"Of course." It's merely a mumble but I caught it anyways. I shake my head, not impressed with this response.

"I pushed him away and left when he tried to kiss me a second time." I hear him hum lowly at this. I put the rest of the glass in the garbage can and stand at the table, stretching out.

"Why's Haymitch here?"

"He was waiting for you with me last night. You know he worries, even if he doesn't say it out loud."

"I know. Now let me see your feet, you didn't treat them." I had noticed the cuts on the sole of his foot and wondered if he had cleaned it at all. I bend down and take a look at his foot, cuts and some glass are still there as I look it over. I sigh, not saying anything as I get up and get our first aid kit from under the sink. I go to work on his foot when he speaks again.

"It's just like our time in the games, you always fixing me up." He's leaned down a bit so he can play with a strand of my hair and I hear him chuckle at what he's said. He's right. I give a small smile at it as well. "Katniss, about last night-"

"How long have they been happening. I mean so frequently?" I blurt out, cutting him off before he can get any further. That question had be gnawing on me all day. I feel him move back against his chair, the strand of my hair falling back into place.

"About a month now." He states, shame clear.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I don't look at him, keeping busy with picking glass out of his foot.

"I didn't want you to worry, I guess that's a joke. Look at how we've been since they happened. Last night was just a build up of them." He pauses for a second. "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

"Peeta, I know you didn't mean to. It wasn't you. I think maybe you should start talking to the psychiatrist here in town. See what they think." I know it's really contradictory for me to suggest him going, when I should be going for myself. But my problems seem so minor compared to his.

"I think I should too." I'm glad he agrees. I have his foot bandaged and I'm standing back up.

"There you go. All better." I give him as warm a smile as I can muster as I move to him, sliding my way between his legs so I can kiss him. "Don't brood over this ok? We're fine, everything can go back to how it usually is. It was just a momentary lapse in judgement, hm?" I give him another full kiss on his lips, trying to coax his lips to respond. I finally get the reaction I want and move so I'm straddling his lap, kissing him fully, encouraging him to encircle me with his strong arms.

I'm sure many people would be afraid of him if they had been in my position last night, but I could never fear him when he's just being Peeta, the man I'm madly in love with.

The first night in a month we made love, gentle, sweet, slow. Everything I forgot about and didn't realize I missed. I had come undone in his gentle embrace and loving words. That night I had felt felt something in me that reaffirmed how much I loved this man.

I had walked Peeta over to the doctor's office before I headed to the forest that day, he was going for his third session with the 'head doctor' as Johanna would call them. He had said they'd be discussing medications today. I told him I'd be out hunting for a bit and I'd come see him at the bakery afterwards. He had been going in later the days he went to see this doctor, but he insisted on still going to work and I wasn't going to tell him not to.

Bow and arrows slung over my shoulder I made my way quickly and quietly into the forest, going in the complete opposite of the meadow, the grave site, into the thicker brushes. I managed to take down a squirrel when I heard a twig snap behind me. Arrow already ready and I turned, ready to let the arrow fly at whatever was behind me when I was met with a pair of eyes as grey as mine and hair as dark as my own.

"Hey Catnip." The nickname still had it's enduring qualities but his appearance was an almost unwelcomed surprise. I was still a little miffed over the kiss in his house two weeks ago. I lowered my bow and gave him a look of questioning. "I figured you'd come out here. Thought we could talk."

I ruffled my bangs with my right hand, trying to hide any annoyance I had for him. "What do you want to talk about?"

"About the day in my house. The kiss."

"Can't we just pretend it didn't happen? Can't you do something that's going to make me want to be friends with you again? Why do you have to be so difficult Gale?"

"You know why, the same reason you're so complicated." I roll my eyes when he gives me a smile. I notice then he's got his old bow with him as well. The forest would always be apart of us.

"Too much fire." I mumble quietly. "I need to get some game, so either you can help me or you can leave for now." I turn my back, not bothering to wait to see what his response will be. I know he'll follow. He's as quiet as I am and for a moment I feel like I'm twelve again, meeting his fourteen year old self in this very forest, deciding to team up knowing we'll bring in a bigger haul if we work together than on our own. A longing I hadn't paid mind to in a long time is there once more, calling out for my best friend once more.

Two hours later and we had managed to catch enough game to fill my bag. Everyone will be impressed with the load, I never brought this much back, mostly because I couldn't lift it.

I set the bag down and sit next to it in the grassy field near the fence. Gale joins me, sitting next to me.

"Thanks for helping." I say to him.

"We always did make a good team." I hear the smile in his voice but I don't look his way, I worry he's going to try and pull the same stunt again like he did two weeks ago. "How's Peeta?" I'm a little shocked that he's bringing Peeta up.

"Better. How's construction going?"

"We managed to finish another house. A few more families are planning on coming back soon."

"Are you planning to stay here permanently?" I ask him. I had been curious since people always seemed to be leaving here.

"I think so."

"What were you doing before in two? I saw you on the television a few times, never paid attention though as soon as I saw your face." I hear him chuckle.

"I was helping the military. When I came back, it was originally for a visit but then I realized how much I missed home. It's in our blood, District Twelve." It's true, many of us that were born and raised here have come back. I think my mom would too if it didn't hold so many painful memories and at least in Four she was able to pursue a medical career. No matter the hardships we endued in this district, it was home to us. "You think we'll ever be as close as we use to be?" He breaks me out of my thoughts with his question.

"Maybe one day." I say quietly. "Can you handle friend status? I'm a married woman you know." I glance over at him and see he's staring off in the opposite direction.

"Married. Who would have thought Katniss Everdeen would get married."

"Mallark now actually.. and like I said, we've changed." I look at the sun's direction and see it's high up in the sky now, signalling it's about noon. "Come on, I need to bring this haul into town before they buy from another person." I get up and wipe the dirt off my body. He gets up after me and moves to grab the game bag off the ground, slinging it on his shoulder, opposite of the shoulder that has his own bow over it. I decide to ask him one last question before we go back into town. "Do you think you'll ever get over your feelings for me, so it's not so awkward?"

"Maybe one day." Using the same answer I gave him moments before. I follow behind him as we cross under the fence. Though our relationship is far from what it was, there was hope of at least moving on for me.

TBC...

A/N: Hey there, so another chapter. Longish. Um.. yeah. Let me know what you think. Curious to know if you think it's going in the right direction. I know some people don't like gale. I am not a Gale/Katniss shipper but I believe in friendship. So yeah, drop a comment, let me know your thoughts. Still a ways to go. Next chapter will probably be out some time next weekend.