Chapter XII

"Katniss!" Cinna's happy tenor rings in my ears as I exit the ship onto Cinna's secluded estate.

"Cinna!" I reply with a cheery tone I haven't used in a while.

He stands, dressed in his typical capitol fashions—although abundantly toned down from the normal fashions—his eyes lined with liquid gold, his dark skin still flawless. His bright smile hasn't changed, not one bit. Portia has her arm looped through his. Her gown is rich and flowin' with shades of red that do a wonder at complimentin' her chocolate skin.

Portia releases his arm and wanders forward, embracin' me in a tight hug. She moves on to the rest of the crew and I turn to Cinna.

He holds his arms out for me and I step into them. The comfort of my friend's embrace can't be matched. He gives me a tight squeeze and I feel him press a kiss to the top of my head.

"It's good to see you Katniss." He says as he pulls away and holds me at arms length—appraisin' me. "You look good too. Healthy. I'm glad to see that. But there's something else…" He squints his eyes and cocks his head to the side. "Has someone finally managed to melt that stone cold heart of yours?"

I glare despite his joking tone. He chuckles at me, "How about you tell me about it later." A statement not a question, I don't look forward to that conversation.

…:::…

When we landed I wasn't sure what to expect but I certainly wasn't expecting the reaction Katniss had at seeing this dark skinned man. He and his wife are the simplest dressed rich folks I've ever seen. Yet there is no question of their wealth.

Katniss embraced the woman, Portia, as if she were an old friend. But when she embraced the man, Cinna, it was as if he was family. I've never seen this side of Katniss Everdeen. She is so different around them, she smiles more and laughs—a beautiful sound—it confuses me.

Cinna holds out his arm and Katniss takes it with a wide smile. Portia takes his other arm and they wander into the grand mansion. Gale tosses me a crate and picks up one himself. Finnick already carries one, he and Annie wander inside after them and we follow.

I quirk my eyebrows at Johanna as we set down the crates inside the front door. She shrugs it off and simply wanders into the sitting room where the others are already chatting and Portia is serving tea.

"Please make yourselves at home." Portia smiles. "We insist you stay for dinner. It will be ready in little over an hour. Feel free to wander the grounds or the house. Whatever you wish until dinner time." Everyone nods and conversation resumes.

"Johanna?" I turn to her, noticing her sad smile. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

She turns away and I follow her out of the house.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"I'll be fine." She grunts and I can tell I won't get anything more from her. She's still upset over Gale and rightly so. He's still acting like an ass and she has to suffer for it.

"What is the history between the Captain and Cinna?" I implore.

"I knew you'd caught that. I could see that jealous flush." She chuckles, a dark and throaty sound. "Don't get your panties in a twist there Doc. There ain't nothin' romantic 'tween the Cap'n and Cinna. He is married after all. Old pals those two. Cinna was one of our first real clients. Saved our asses he did."

I look to her in question.

"We got him his goods. Cap'n was delivering them. It was before Cinna had this fancy secluded estate. He was in a much more patrolled neighborhood at the time. It was a pretty risky mission. The Cap'n had the goods and she was sneakin' them to Cinna's house. Patrol caught her. Cinna saved her. Claimed she was one of his slaves and therefore he had the right to her punishment. She probably woulda been shot or hung or somethin' if it weren't for Cinna. He covered it all. Forged the papers sayin' he had her shipped off planet and such. They never questioned it. Cinna covered his tracks good. Saved the Cap'n's life he did. He's good people. He always uses the Cap'n for jobs…then pays us way more than the normal price. Him and the Cap'n have grown real close. One of her closest friends he is."

I nod, strangely grateful to Cinna for saving Katniss so that I could have the chance to meet her.

…:::…

"Katniss." Cinna's warm voice murmurs in my ear. "I have something I'd like to show you." He stands and leads me from the room. I follow him up three flights of stairs to the attic. He wanders to a large semi-circular window.

"What were you lookin' to show me Cinna?" I ask, glancin' around the attic trying to see anything special.

"Oh nothing. I just wanted to continue that conversation from earlier."

I groan loudly, "Cinna there was no conversation. You're just makin' assumptions. And not even correct ones."

"Now now Miss. Everdeen. You can't fool me. I know that dazed look you have isn't from the fresh air. There's someone…someone special. Yes someone very special…and I would bet good money on that. I'd bet even more money on that young gentleman." He points out the window and my eyes follow his finger to where Johanna and Peeta are wandering.

"You shouldn't gamble Cinna. I hear it's addicting and all you end up with is nothing." I growl.

"Ah! She protests!" He chortles. "To much in my opinion." He places gentle hands on my shoulders and stares into my eyes before he speaks gently. "Katniss. I know you, and I know that you don't look at anyone the way I saw you glancing at that man. Now tell me what is going on."

I huff and turn to face the window, crossing my arms over my chest. I'd like to avoid this but Cinna just won't allow it. "I don't know Cinna. He stirs up all these feelin's that I ain't sure what to do with. Whenever he is near me I feel like my body is being run through with electricity. I can't breath right and I'm distracted. It's frustrating…infuriating even. Sometimes I feel like he's playin' with me and I don't know the game."

"It sounds like a crush Katniss." He winks. "It's not bad to feel these things…"

"I never said it was bad!"

"You didn't have to Katniss. I know you feel like this is a weakness to you. But I promise it's not. You just have to be open to the possibilities of love. Don't let yourself become closed off like Gale."

"I'm not like Gale." I grumble.

"Oh Katniss! You two could be siblings…in every way. Please promise me you won't close yourself off and in doing so hurt that nice young doctor like Gale has hurt Johanna."

"How'd you…"

"I've seen Johanna angry, and I've see her happy. But it wasn't until today that I saw her heartbroken. What did Gale do?"

I sigh, Cinna is far more observant about everything than I'd like. "Johanna decided not to take his bullshit anymore. He wouldn't step up and so she ended them. He's hurtin' but won't admit it and she is hurtin' but won't give in again. It's bout time though."

"He'll come around. I just know it. He loves that girl way more than he knows but he'll realize it soon."

He turns to me again. "You like that man a good deal too…I think you'll be realizing it soon too."

…:::…

Dinner was incredible. Much better than all the packaged and dried items we've been eating for weeks. Fresh meats and vegetables, creamy gravies and more. It was delectable. Conversation with Cinna and Portia was never dull; they always had gossip or other topics or questions.

We had said out goodbyes and just as Johanna has said…Cinna paid a large amount. I could tell it was more than necessary by the way Katniss tried to lower the price. But Cinna wouldn't have it and eventually convinced her to take it.

Annie flew us to a remote little desert on the planet and landed for the night. Clove was still in the big cities doing her work. She had a few days worth of commitments and there was other business to be done. A new job needed to be found and parts and repairs needed to be done.

Aboard the ship we all were allowed to relax for a day. Captain's orders apparently. I didn't see much of Katniss though. Every time I entered a room she exited it with stuttered excuses. She'd avoided me all through the remaining time at Cinna's as well. I was perplexed to say the least.

So I set about cleaning the infirmary and making a list of any required supplies. The Captain had given everyone a share to use to restock the ship and such.

"Hey there doc." Gale's grumbling voice sounded from the door.

"Hi Gale." I said, looking at him as he leans in the door way.

"I found something in the common room…" He pulls out a brown leather journal…my journal!

"Interesting contents…" He taunts. Waving the book in front of himself like a fan.

"Gale you have no right…that's private." My body tenses as he opens it.

"Like hell… you left it lying around. I found it. There ain't much privacy on this boat." He flips through a few pages.

"Dear Diary…today I was pompous and my sister was crazy….Today we were kidnapped by hill folk never to be seen again. It was the best day ever." He reads in a mock voice.

"It doesn't say that!" I protests lunging for the journal.

"Oh settle down. I know it doesn't…I saw that once…in a TV show. Thought it'd be funny."

"This isn't a joke Gale." I lower my voice. There are private feelings in that journal. Things I do not wish him to read.

"Well that was…but this…no this isn't." He thumps his hand to one of the pages of the book.

"No…this isn't a joke at all. You're in love with the Cap'n you are… I don't find that funny. I won't let you hurt her." His voice is defensive. "You tell me know pretty boy…do you intend to toy with her feelings like one of your little play things. I know how you rich folk operate. You find yourself the newest and shiniest toy and dispose of it when something else comes along. I won't let you hurt Katniss that way."

I step back at his insinuations. "How dare you." I growl. "You said it yourself…I love her…I do. I would never hurt her. Unlike you...when I love a woman I love her right. I don't toy with her feelings until she is so put out that she's done with me. No I would never do that. I'm not like you Gale."

"What'd you just say?" His voice is low and dangerous.

"I said I'm not like you Gale. You love Johanna. I know, everyone knows. Hell I think you know it too. But every single time you push her away again. Now she's done with you and you still won't admit your fault. You need to remove your head from your ass Gale and love her properly. She deserves far better than you but she only wants you. You're lucky she does. You shouldn't do this to her."

Guilt and shame cross his eyes but he quickly hides them behind a mask of anger. He tosses my book aside and lunges forward, fists swinging. He lands a punch to my cheek and one to my gut. I'd love to retaliate but it won't do any good here. SO I simply right myself and stare him down.

"Do you feel better now?"

He hangs his head and mumbles, "No."

"You just think about what I said."

Author's Note:

Hey! Sorry for the super long update time. It's the end of the semester and all. Summer is nearly here though! Well not really...it's still really snowy here in Calgary. Anyways! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review and let me know!