Author's Note: Almost debrief time…but y'know Mav hasn't seen Ari in two years! I think they need 'sibling time' don't you?

Thanks go to my reviewers as always: JB, EWD and HL

Chapter 47

Diner Disappointment

We leave the chart at the nurse's station. Although I am still qualified to do the doctor thing I really don't want to and Gale doesn't pursue the subject. My communicator goes off and it tells me its time for supper.

"Hungry?" I ask and he nods.

We walk hand in hand all the way and he holds me close in the elevator, since we are the only ones in the car. When we get outside the mess hall there is a seating plan. This is new to me because before there were so few of us it just told us the group we were with, no actual seating plan, you just stick with your group. Helped in organizing.

All new arrivals, meaning district Twelve, are situated at the far back of the hall. My group 'spec op' has a table near the far wall, it consists of Mav, Makenzie, Zigg, Ken and now Beetee and Plutarch.

"Guess we'll chat later" Gale says quietly, I grasp his hand and he grips back. I have a feeling just by seeing the chart, things are not going to go well.

We get our food and he walks me to the table I have. Mav watches us come over and we kiss quickly before he takes his soup and bread to the back where I see Hazelle and her family waiting for him.

I play with my food dunking pinches of the bread until they sink to the bottom.

"You okay Ari?" Mav asks, "you don't seem happy to be here"

I shake my head, "I want to be here, I just wish Gale was too but he's a new arrival still"

Ziggy sits down with Makenzie.

"That Everdeen girl will wake every resident in a ten mile radius soon" Makenzie says in conversation.

"And whoever tried to remove her tracking devise did a lousy job" Ziggy adds

"That was Johanna Mason" I say, "she had to make due with what she had Zigg"

Ziggy looks a bit shocked that I am defending and not join in or even using it to backtrack to when I had it done, "at least you and Everdeen have that in common now" she says as rebutal.

I get up and leave, I don't even touch my meal, and I barely say anything as I leave. I don't register what Gale is doing and my brain isn't back in district Thirteen mode yet.

It takes about thirty minutes but Maverick knocks on my door. It opens because I don't close and lock it until lights out. I'm face down in my pillow. I had screamed a streak of swear words so long Perusse would have ordered me to wash my own mouth out.

"You aren't okay, admit that much" he says and I nod in response, "what happened back there?"

"Back in the mess hall? Back in Twelve or back in the Capitol Mav" I ask

"Start at the beginning if you gotta" He says firmly. It's enough to get me to sit up and wipe my face.

I explain everything. How the capitol treats the games, how there are pockets of young adults that rebel by trying to kill themselves each year. How Peeta lost his leg, how I was part of the team responsible, how he loves Katniss but she doesn't return his affection. How I met Paylor, and about delivering Sam. I grow quiet after.

"Makenzie would be proud" Maverick says, "did you tell her?" I shake my head, "why not?"

I wave my hands frantically, "because I don't know how! I mean…Mav maybe because I was a victor so young it messed with my head, I mean I don't even know what 'girlfriend' means!"

Oops.

"Girlfriend?" Mav looks at me oddly, and I groan, but instead of getting flustered he chuckles, "that must be part of it, so Gale and you are together?" I nod, "you don't like that? Or you do?" I shrug, "how do you feel when you are around him kiddo?"

I sigh, "he's my partner in crime I guess, when I was about to leave to return to Thirteen I had stopped in Twelve but they called the quarter quell"

"Yeah Plutarch had talked about the plan, Coin needed convincing" he says, "so that was your idea? It didn't sound like something Pluatrch would cook up"

"Fifty years Mav" I look at him, "fifty years of lies. No more, I trained Peeta and Katniss, I didn't tell them anything, not about the plan, not about Pluatrch, they are innocent. The only two other than Abernathy that knew were Tracer and Tracker in game. I re-met Gale at that time, and we…I guess we grew close…I really like him but I …"

"You'll know" Maverick says, "I guess the person that would understand more is Finnick since he won at your age too. And he has a girlfriend"

"Did you ever?" I ask

"One or two" he replies, "but I think it's different for girls, because I didn't fall deep like my last girlfriend, she fell for me hard, and when I signed up for the games she was so torn up she didn't speak to me again" he sighs, "love is a strange thing, you could ask Makenzie or Zigg too y'know" he smirks, "feel better?"

"A bit I guess" I reply, "thanks" I smirk and he kissed my forehead, then places my tray in my lap, he kept my meal.

"One off" he says, "though I know and you know you're not malnourished the guard that saw you leave thought you were starving yourself"