Author's Note: POV change! Yay! Don't you just love Ari when she gets pissed off? Such a chip on her shoulder no? Part of this chapter I devote to the speech Al Pacino said in the movie "Any Given Sunday" don't know it? Look it up! It's not verbatim, but it has the feel of it is all…

Thanks go to my reviewers: JB and HL (and Pandora as she's catching up...)

Chapter 44

The Girl I Know

Gale POV

I had told Katniss that the district had been destroyed and held her as she broke down. I have never seen Katniss so upset in my life, and that's saying something. We almost grew up together.

Mind you.

I have never seen Ariana angry ever…until today. Katniss has passed out. Due to the drugs they are dosing her with to keep her sedated she seems incoherent at best. I head out to the cargo hold when Finnick told me what has happened.

Peeta is captured, Tracker Kingsly and Johanna Mason as well.

We are not all together. We aren't all safe. Ariana turned her back on a guy named Heavensbee and knocked Haymitch out shortly after. O'dair doesn't know what happened behind that closed door but I can tell just by how Ariana is acting she is trying to bury herself in calming everyone down.

I come down the cargo hold to Colins watching her from afar.

"What happened up there?" he asks, I shrug, "she glared at me, and she only did that once when I had pinned her then kissed her"

"So you're the one she nailed in the groin?" I smirk, "I guess I should thank you for taking that blow then"

He smirks but it fades, "she's pissed off, I can tell, who's the kindergartner she has in her arms right now?"

I look over and she has Posy in her arms calming her as my baby sister cries quietly, "my little sister, Posy"

"Cute kid" Colins says, "look no offence Hawthorne but we are trying to get her on our side right now"

"Who? Katniss? I don't think you have any problem with that" but he shakes his head

"No Ariana" he says, "I was at the meeting when this whole 'rescue the tributes' mission was discussed, they said this Mellark kid wasn't our objective"

"You do realize he's the only family she has left" I say to him, "she treated him like a younger brother"

"Trust me I know and I don't like it anymore than you do but she will be able to get thru to Everdeen" he says quietly, "and she has family, Maverick, me"

"Yeah but Peeta is different" I explain, "Peeta and her shared a bond that you and her don't have, you're older than her so is Maverick I suspect, Peeta is younger than her she feels protective and you guys just tossed him aside for this whole war effort"

Colins sighs, "I know, trust me, if there was a way to get him"

"Knowing Ari she's already folding one into her agenda" I say softly, "I'm sorry Colins but if you are trying to get me to get her to listen you're asking the wrong guy, I respect her too much to try and change her mind"

He doesn't look fazed, "Hawthorne I wasn't planning to, I had a feeling they wouldn't win her over, I mean I heard her screeching at some guy up there, and Finnick pulling her off then she stormed to Heavenbee's office" he sighs, "knowing Ariana she won't budge and she will go against Coin too"

"Who's Coin?" I ask

"You'll meet her" he waves it off, "I kinda feel bad for Plutarch even if he is a stuffed shirt from the capitol, at the meeting he had placed all his chips with Ari helping out, saying she would, proclaiming she would steer Katniss to do what they need"

I stifle a laugh, "he really doesn't know her"

"I barely know her and I could tell Plutarch was naïve to even think that, Coin had agreed with him" he pauses and turns to look out the window, "but he lost his wager as soon as he called off the search for Peeta in the arena, he didn't even try, and as soon as he did he lost his winning piece in this game"

I turn to watch the window, "what do you think she'll do?"

"With my limited knowledge of Crane? She's gonna put people into places to orchestrate what she wants, don't be surprise if she gives you all the credit for rescuing the people of your district" he says, I don't know how to feel about this, he's making Ariana out to be a mastermind, ok I know she's smart but she's not some diabolical villain, its like Colins reads my mind.

"She knows what is right, heck I am sure you'll be brought to the debrief" he smirks, "our girl had her hands in a few places before she got to you guys"

"That so?" I reply turning to look at my girl, she is my girl and she looks the picture of innocence, but behind that façade there is a very intelligent and very persuasive young woman.

I leave Colins to watch as the pilot steers us to safety as I go over to my family.

"It's okay Posy" Ariana says softly, "the fire is gone far far away, you're safe now"

Posy whimpers and buries her face in Ariana's shoulder grasping around her neck. Ariana bounces on her toes.

"They try and recruit you again?" I ask softly

She scoffs, "they wanted me to be a puppeteer" she says softly, "after telling me that Peeta wasn't worth their time" she glares at Colins, "to think I stuck my neck out for cowards, people that want to win a war when fighting isn't what is needed, all we need to do is take the king, and they want to take down the whole board…idiots Gale"

I nod, "Colins…" but she glares, "look apparently this Plutarch guy put all his money on having you with him"

"He thought wrong, as soon as he didn't stick to our plan he forfeited any chance of having me with them" she says as she passes Posy to my mom, we head for a more secluded spot in the hold, "she rewards people" she adds, "and we have just given her a troop of angry vengeful young adults and adults" she looks to me, "she would point the direction and tell them to go there and die for the glory of rebellion"

"And you don't think that's the way?" I look at her, she's calm, I've seen this before when she was training us and Katniss had thrown a fit, she's planning something.

"Life is a game of inches Gale" she says, "people will follow a leader to the ends of the earth if they know their leader would go that inch with them. They respect someone who gets their hands dirty, is ready willing and able to pick up the slack when it comes down to the bitter end of it all"

"I'm ready and willing" I say and she smirks, "guess you are too"

"I would go that inch for you any day Gale" she says softly, "I would take your inch as well if you couldn't"

"And I would carry you if you couldn't get there" I say softly to her, it's almost like pillow talk but we are talking about rebellion and teamwork and leadership, god where has she been all my life?!

I want to say it, I want to say those three words but I don't know if she would react like I want. Instead I lean down and she stands straighter and we kiss. My girl, the patriot. The kiss is brief because we hear an intercom system telling us to get to a seat or to secure ourselves somehow.