Thanks for all the birthday wishes and fantastic reviews! Seriously you guys are fantastic. I wish I could respond directly to some of the anonymous reviews, they are so nice! The one about me being good enough to get published made me squeel like you wouldn't believe, so thank you so much. oh my goodness. So, as a reward for all the fantastic reviews, I have typed up this chapter much sooner then I had scheduled. I hope you enjoy it!

I'm cold when I wake up. Cato must have moved in the middle of the night because I am no longer being kept warm by his body heat. Trying to keep my teeth from chattering, I reach my arm out to feel for Cato, but I grasp only air. I open my eyes and see that I am alone. I try not to jump to a conclusion but my mind goes straight to last night's conversation. I remind myself to relax, he could be getting something to eat or going to the bathroom, something like that. I roll over to grab a knife and investigate his whereabouts, when my eyes fall on a small white rock among my possessions. It's in a shape of a heart and has two names written on it. Cato's rock. I pick it up as dread washes over me. I'm on my feet before I come up with a plan. I exit the tent and look hastily around for a sign of Cato. He's gone. I find myself on the verge of tears. Surely he had gone after Thresh to kill him before he could get to me. Cato had gone for good. There wasn't going to be another fight for him. No, Cato had intended to make this is last fight. I never even got to say goodbye to him. I think about going into the woods to look for him, but he could have an hour head start. I look off into the distance, surveying the line of trees, when, by some miracle, I see Cato entering the woods on the far side of the arena.

"CATO!" I scream and full on sprint towards him. I watch as he turns and begins to make his way back to me. He starts off slow, but his pace quickens until he too is sprinting. When we meet in the middle, we don't so much 'meet' as we crash into each other, not bothering to slow down. We hug one another as we never have before. My face buried into his chest, I choke out,

"Dammit Cato, I thought I was never going to see you again." Cato rubs my back in an attempt to calm me down, but for some reason this only infuriates me more. I begin hitting him and punching him wherever I can.

"You jerk! What did you think you were doing? You just left me without saying goodbye!" Cato doesn't struggle or fight back, but just stands there while I continue to slap him. In my emotional state I can't keep exerting myself for long and after about five minutes of beating Cato up, I sink to the ground. Cato figures I'm safe to approach and sits down next to me.

"I'm sorry. I thought it was the only way. I knew you would insist upon taking out one or two more tributes together before splitting up, but I didn't want to risk you getting killed in a fight." He's right of course, that was exactly my plan. Cato knows me too well and I'm not sure how to respond.

"Would you have really wanted to end it like that? No final words, nothing? Just leaving me in the tent, sleeping and giving me your token?"

"Clove, I'm so sorry. I just didn't know what to do." We look at each other for a few minutes. I try to memorize his eyes. The dark blue around the rims that fade to a sky blue in the middle. The eyes that were truly his, not the dark ones he had when he's killing someone. As if drawn to each other by some magnetic force, out lips crash against each others at the same time. It's hard, rough, raw. When Cato finally draws back he says,

"Clove, I can't lose you. You have to go back to the tent. Just wait there. I'll get rid of the others. Once I'm dead you can finish whoever is left. Please listen to me. Stay out of trouble and just stay in the tent." Cato stands up to leave and helps me to my feet.

"No." I refuse, "I'm not weak. I can fight just as well as you. You can get two and I'll get the other half."

"Clove, please. You cannot die. Just hide."

"Cato, I refuse to let you die for me!" My voice is high and shrill, much more desperate then I have ever heard it. Cato grabs both of my arms and says forcefully,

"I'm not just doing this for you. I'm doing this for our baby, too."

I collapse into Cato's arms as my tears begin to flow.

"You weren't supposed to ever know." I say quietly.

"Clove, you know why I have to do this." He says and as much as I don't want him to leave me, I understand. I step back so I'm holding my own weight now and I face Cato. Slowly, he reaches over and unzips my jacket then lifts up my shirt, gently. Unsure, he runs his hand down my barely visible baby bump that I had kept concealed under the fabric of my jacket. I study him closely, his expression is soft and sad as he keeps his big, clumsy hand on my abdomen for a moment longer as if unsure what to do. He lets my shirt fall back down and zips my jacket back up for me.

"Goodbye, Clove." He says.

"Goodbye." I whisper, breathless.

"I love you." He tells me.

"I love you, Cato." I say and slip our rock back into his hand. He leans in for one last, brief kiss then heads to the forest. I remain standing there, glued to the spot, not daring to take my eyes off of him. He turns back only when he reaches the edge of the trees. He pauses for a moment then continues forward as I watch his back disappear into the woods and out of my sight.

Alright, I think, go back to the tent. Keep yourself armed with knives and wait. But, of course, I don't do that. I check to make sure I have knives in my jacket, then run to where I saw Cato enter the woods. As I make my way into the forest, I slow down and walk silently, wincing at every crunch of a leaf as I track Cato. I'm preparing myself for a long trek, when I see that Cato is seated on a log, head in his hands, presumably crying. I sit down behind a tree a ways a way to watch him. I hear a sob escape from him and it takes everything I have to not go and comfort him. He finally raises his head from his hands and looks down at our rock. I watch as he runs his thumb over the surface. He remains like that for a long time. I'm beginning to doze off in my hiding spot, when he moves all of a sudden, as if struck by some sudden inspiration. Cato reaches into his pack and pulls out Odessaly's notebook and pen. I watch in interest, as he tears out a piece of paper then proceeds to stare at it. He starts writing and I wonder what on earth he could be doing. He ends up writing three pages back and front and the front of a fourth. He folds them up and I observe as he writes in his messy scrawl, "Clove" on the front. I place my hand over my mouth as tears well up in my eyes again. It's a letter for me. He puts it in his pocket and I understand. It's for me to have after he dies. He tears out one more pice of paper and begins to write again. This time he seems to be at a loss for words, unsure what to write. He fills up about 2/3rds of the page then folds it up. Another letter. I squint to see what he writes on the front and I make out the words "Son/Daughter." That does me in. I stuff my jacket sleeve in my mouth to muffle the noises I make as I lose it completely. I'm crying so hard that my entire body is shaking and I consider just killing myself right now. I don't deserve to win. Cato should be the one who comes out of this, not me.

I must not have been doing a good job of keeping silent because Cato turns to look in my direction. His eyes are red and he quickly wipes away his tears in case there was another tribute. He doesn't spot me though and turns back around. It's nightfall by now and I wonder if I should head back to the tent. That's what Cato wanted me to do anyway. Besides, I don't envision him going anywhere tonight. I can find him again. I have to use the tree to support myself as I stand up, weak from crying, before I start to go to the old career camp. I walk about a minute before the anthem starts to blare. I stop and look up, just in case a tribute had died that I was unaware of, but no faces appear. The capitol seal vanishes and I begin to walk again as I hear Claudius Templesmith's voice making an announcement. Yes, it looks like we will be having a feast.

"Attention tributes, attention. The regulations requiring a single victor has been suspended. From now on two victors may be crowned if both originate from the same district. This will be the only announcement." I remain standing, unable to move or process what just happened. And then it hits me. Cato and I can both win. Neither of us has to die! We can play as a team and go back to District 2 together. Before I can stop myself, an image flashes before my eyes. I see Cato and I together in victors village, laughing in the kitchen with our child. I race back to Cato and see him opening up a large box from a parachute. Our first sponsor gift! I watch as he pockets something, then pulls out a fancy Capitol drink and meal. Unable to remain hidden another minute, i run towards him.

"Cato!" I yell, half a laugh and half a sob. He looks up and smiles at me through his tears, which are now falling from joy. I run into his outstretched arms and kiss him full on the mouth. He picks me up and spins me around, then lets out a celebratory yell after I stop kissing him. We both stand there grinning like idiots at each other before Cato motions for us to sit down and eat the food Darlie and Nilo had sent us.

"Clove." Cato says, "We're gonna go home." I smile at him as he pours me a drink.

"Together." I finish.

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