Here's Chapter Three! Be sure to review so I know if you're all liking it.

Rekindling

Chapter Three

Life went on as normal after Gale left, and while I went about my day still looking over my shoulder for any angry Capitol citizen, there was no sign of danger. At least not for a few weeks.

Peeta was gone working at the bakery, which he had rebuilt and started up again once we got settled into our life back in District 12 after the rebellion. He didn't need to work, really, since we could have sold any piece of furniture in our house and made money off of that, but he liked to keep busy. Bread made him happy, he always said. It was also the only thing he had left of his old life before we were in the Games, before his family was annihilated by the Capitol.

Whenever Peeta was gone at work, I made Haymitch visit with me and the kids. He protested every time, but I think he liked the fresh air he got when we all were outside, so he always showed up. Today he was sitting on my front step, drawing figure eights in the dirt with a stick. He mumbled under his breath as if having a conversation with himself after Rye clapped his hands in the dirt, ruining the picture. I couldn't help laughing when Haymitch told Rye to keep his hands off of his dirt.

I was kneeling behind Rosemarie, who was holding my bow and arrow, nearly tilting over under its weight. She liked to pretend she was actually shooting the arrow, but I pulled the bow back for her and let it send the arrow flying into the dirt. This is just another thing we did when Peeta wasn't around. I knew he wouldn't be happy seeing Rosemarie walking around with my bow and arrow.

After my last arrow was sent into the dirt, I left Rosemarie holding my bow to go pluck the arrows out of the ground to put back in my sheath. Haymitch was having a conversation with Rye, who like him babbled and slurred his words, so I was sure Haymitch came across as crystal clear to Rye.

Just as I was about to turn back to Rosemarie, I saw a white flash in the woods, the frame of a strongly built person moving behind the trees. In a blink of an eye, they were gone, but I still found myself running for Rosemarie, snatching her up as if she was that orange bag near the Cornucopia in my first Games. As if she was the one thing that would save my life. Haymitch looked alarmed when I sprinted toward him, plopping Rosemarie in his lap and pulling the bow from her hands.

"Haymitch! Take the kids inside," I shouted, shoving Rye in his arms as well.

"Kat—"

"Go, now, Haymitch! Now! Lock the doors."

I was sprinting toward the woods before he reassured me that he would and had my arrow pointing forward, ready. Leaves and thin branches slapped me in the face as I bounded into the woods, seeing yards in front of me a person running. I couldn't make them out well enough to shoot them. Even in white they were camouflaged in the dense forest. My lungs were burning as sticks cracked under my fast moving feet and I was suddenly aware of how long it had been since I ran full force.

Images of the Games came flooding back as I ran, hearing the heavy breathing of whoever I was running after. A few times, I wasn't even sure where I was or what I was doing. The images blended so well together that for a second I thought I heard the sound of a canon signaling the death of another tribute. When I snapped back into my reality, I realized that was just my pulse pounding in my ears.

The person in the white Peacekeeper outfit leaped over a fallen tree, but by the time I registered that I should jump as well and follow his lead, I was falling to the ground, rolling a few feet in the foliage covered ground. I had just enough time, though, right before I fell, to let the arrow fly from my bow and pierce him in the arm.

I heard him spewing with pain as I lay on the ground, but by the time I got up and was steady enough to run after him, he was no where to be seen. All I saw was the green of the trees and all I heard was the wind winding around the branches and the wings of birds leaving the scene.

"Damn it!"

The blood of the person who had been watching me and the kids near the house was splattered on the leaves around the log, but the blood trail stopped after a few more yards, leaving me nothing to follow. My heart was still going crazy and I couldn't catch my breath as anger swelled in my chest when I was finally able to realize what I had just done, and who I had let get away. I stayed in one spot for a few more minutes, hoping that whoever was running from me would come back around because they were lost, only to come face to face with me. When I heard and saw nothing near the end of the blood trail, I turned back around, keeping my bow and arrow ready so that if I saw anyone in white again, I'd send an arrow through their heart so they couldn't get away even if they wanted to.

Once I was at the edge of the woods, I saw our house from the view of whoever had been watching us. The victor house was huge, bigger than any near the center of District 12 and through the windows you could see the fancy curtains that draped the windows. I could have easily sunk my arrow into one of the front steps from the woods, and the idea of being a perfect target by being outside made my stomach flop.

I walked backwards to the front door, keeping my eyes on the woods and road in front of me to make sure no one followed. I pressed my back up against the front door when I got to it and turned my fist, knocking on the door. I still couldn't catch my breath after my full out sprint, fall, and failure, so I let myself sink against the door, hoping to regain some of my strength.

Through the door I heard footsteps, but no one opened the door and no one said a word. I turned and faced the door, seeing that the door was locked when I tried to open it. At least I knew that Haymitch had listened to me when I told him to lock the doors.

"Haymitch!" I shouted, hoping he'd open the door for me.

When the door remained shut, I started to panic. Maybe that wasn't him standing by the door? Maybe he hadn't gotten in the house in time?

"Haymitch! It's Katniss, open the door."

I knocked and turned the knob again, but he didn't open the door.

"Katniss!"

I heard Peeta behind me and knew that if I had been in the Games, I'd be dead because I didn't hear him until he said my name. He was out of breath and grabbed my arms to steer me to look at him directly.

"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes filled with anger and fright all at the same time.

"They were watching us, Peeta," I said numbly, trying to swallow, but since my throat was dry from running, I couldn't.

"Who?" he asked, shaking me so that I'd answer quicker.

"The Peacekeepers, or whoever the hell they are!" I shouted.

"Oh my…"

Peeta let go of me and pounded on the front door, shouting to Haymitch to open it before he knocked it down and killed him with his bare hands. Haymitch opened it then, peeking through the slight crack he made and letting us in when he saw us both standing there. Peeta closed the door behind us and locked it, pulling me by the hand until we were in our room and alone. I didn't see the kids when we came in, but as Peeta hurried me into our bathroom, I didn't have time to think of them.

"Why are you bleeding?" he asked me, harshly pulling out the bandages and disinfectant from under the sink.

"I went after the guy," I said, wincing when he dabbed a cotton ball on the scratches across my forehead.

"Katniss," he said with a shake of his head. "You shouldn't have gone after him."

"Why the hell not?" I asked, mad at him for thinking it would be better to stay cooped up in the house waiting for someone else to make the first move.

"What would I have told Rosemarie if you didn't come back?" he shouted, angry.

"I would have," I said back, feeling the cool sensation of the disinfectant on my forehead drying after he tossed away the cotton balls.

I could see the angry tense of his back, and even as the first aid kit flew across the bathroom, denting the wall, I kept my eyes on him. He was as out of breath as I was when I had stopped in the woods after running, but I knew his anger was the thing working him up.

"Peeta…" I started.

"Don't," he said, shaking his head.

He leaned against the bathroom counter, looking at the first aid kit he had destroyed by hurling it. I set my bow and arrow on the counter and took a few steps toward him, stopping when he looked up at me after seeing enough of the first aid kit.

"You didn't know if you would be back," Peeta told me.

He hated when I thought I was invincible and when my stubbornness got in the way of seeing reality. I nodded because I didn't know how to respond without making him angrier. He rubbed his face with his hands, looking even more stressed when his face came up from under them.

"I need to see the kids," he said, pushing off of the bathroom counter.

I followed him as he made his way back to the family room where Haymitch was sitting alone. He looked at us as if we were in his house, coming for a visit.

"Uh… Haymitch, where are the kids?"

He shrugged, not saying a word, and Peeta just about threw the chair next to him across the room at Haymitch.

"Closet," Haymitch said when Peeta threatened his life again.

There were about seven closets total in our house, so his clue wasn't exactly helpful. When I sent him a pleading look for Peeta's sake, he pursed his lips together and whistles a bone chilling tune. Rue's song came from his lips and he kept his eyes trained right on me until the kids appeared in the room. Rosemarie was holding onto Rye and the both of them looked happier than ever.

"Uncle Haymitch was playing hide and go seek with us," Rosemarie said, smiling cluelessly. "We had to come out when he whistled if he couldn't find us."

Peeta sat in the chair he would have thrown at Haymitch if the kids hadn't appeared because I'm sure his legs felt like jelly underneath him. I took Rye from Rosemarie and she skipped over to Haymitch, plopping down next to him as if they were the best of friends.

"I think I need a drink," Haymitch said then, patting Rosemarie on the head before he got up. "See you tomorrow."

Haymitch wasn't one to stick around for thank-yous and conversations of what to do in tragedies. He had too many of those in his lifetime, so he opted out on serious situations. I knew he had a feeling that something was going on; otherwise he wouldn't have taken the kids inside. He sent me a look before he disappeared out of view and I heard him lock the front door behind him, leaving us alone.

We couldn't say much about what I saw when Peeta was gone since the kids were around, so we waited it out. Dinner was a blur. I don't even remember what we ate, and the house was so quiet that when Rye or Rosemarie would say something after a few minutes of silence, I'd jump. Peeta was still walking around angry. At me, I'm not sure, but probably more about the fact that people were actually watching us.

By the time we were able to talk, the kids had fallen asleep on the couch in the family room and we were sitting in front of the fireplace. Neither of us wanted to move the kids to their room since we didn't want them to leave our sights, so we had to whisper when we talked.

"Do you think Haymitch knows anything about what's going on?" Peeta asked, tossing a log onto the fire, pulling his hand away quick enough so that the sparks didn't touch his skin.

I shrugged, leaning my chin on my knees, which were pulled up to my chest.

"He might have suspicions, but he doesn't want to know," I replied.

"Did you get a good look at the Peacekeeper impersonator?"

"No," I said, feeling the same anger swirl inside of me that I felt when I let him get away. "It was a man. That's all I could tell when I was running after him."

"But you hit him?"

"Just in the arm. Nothing fatal."

"He'll be hurting, though, so that's all that matters."

I didn't say anything, because I knew that we would have been better off had I killed him. Peeta and I got hurt during the Games and we were healed and able to go on with our lives. Nothing is final until you're dead. We knew that more than anyone.

Peeta stared at the fire and I could see the flickering flames reflect back in his eyes. His demeanor was so much different from this morning, when he woke up optimistic about the day. Now, he looked stressed and angry and tired. Dark circles were starting to form under his eyes, making him seem like he aged years in the past few hours.

"What are you thinking?" I asked when it had been a while since either of us said anything. He looked over at me, but looked at the fire when he answered.

"I think my world is slipping through my fingers," Peeta answered.

I let his answer sink in for a few seconds.

"Kind of like your name just got pulled out of the reaping bowl again?"

He nodded and turned to look at me. I scooted closer to him so that my back was to the fire. His back was to the kids, so we were face to face and he rested his hand against the rug, his arm a tent over my legs.

"Except it feels worse now," Peeta explained.

"We have more to lose," I whispered.

"Who would have imagined?" Peeta asked, a glint of reminiscing in his eyes. "That me and you would have had more to lose than we did before the first Games."

"You did," I said, smiling a little. "You always told me we'd end up here."

"Not here exactly."

"Well… with the kids, the house, the married life."

"The danger," Peeta added.

He sounded like I had the night he came home after being followed by the person in the Peacekeeper uniform. I knew it was my turn to reassure him, even though I didn't believe myself that everything would be okay.

"Where would we be today if we hadn't lived dangerously?" I asked him.

"What?" he whispered, laughing slightly.

"We never would have fallen in love. Or gotten married. Or had these completely oblivious kids."

"You don't think I would have found a way to get you to notice me?" Peeta asked, forgetting for a few seconds about what we were facing. Since I needed him to be okay, I didn't try to steer the conversation back to the people watching us.

"Hell no," I said, pressing my face against his shoulder so that my laugh wouldn't wake up the kids. His breath tickled my ear when he laughed with me. "It took you almost dying and then forgetting who I was for me to notice you."

"Clearly I've done most of the work in this relationship," he joked, brushing my bangs out of my face when I sat up again.

"You?" I repeated in disbelief. "I had to be completely irresistible. That's hard work."

"Yeah, I bet," Peeta said with a shake of his head.

He had the slightest blush on his cheeks as I grinned back at him and I knew from the look in his eyes that he was remembering something from the past; something good that had nothing to do with the Games or President Snow or danger.

"I love you," I whispered to him, leaning forward so that our noses almost touched.

"I love you too, Katniss," he said back. "More than anything."

I kissed him then because I knew he was telling the truth, and because I knew that as long as we loved each other and let no one get in the way of that, we'd be okay. Even if our lives ended tomorrow, we had hundred of days behind us when we were living happily in peace and happily together.

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unknownbyhim22