Mockingjay: Broken Wings Chapter 7: The Mystery of Thirteen, a hunger games fanfic

Mockingjay: Broken Wings

By: Jamie Sommers

Chapter Six: The Mystery of Thirteen

Hello one and all! Welcome back. So far we've got Peeta who is having troubles with his memory, but Effie has switched out the tracker jacker venom for a weaker "social drug" called jacker juice. Will it help or hurt Peeta's memories? Katniss let her true feelings out about Snow and what she thought about his recording of Peeta while talking to Prim. She's also having a very difficult time hiding this pregnancy. Gale has been trying his best to get over Katniss, and now it's time for a new outlet.

A little note to all the Gale fans out there. I have said this on my tumblr page and I will say it again here. I'm glad you're a fan of Gale's. He's an interesting character, but I did not create his anger or hatred. That was Suzanne Collins. If you want to hate the fact that I'm delving into his fiery side, go ahead, but do not send me hate mail or post reviews that are hateful over a character I didn't create. Gale is who he is, and I have given him a lot more compassion than I ever expected to. I don't despise him or anything, I'm just not writing a Gale fic. This is a Katniss and Peeta fic and as I said on tumblr, they are the hero and heroine of my story. If you have a question as to why I wrote a particular thing ask me on my tumblr page or PM, and I will try to answer you to the best of my ability. jamiesommers23 dot tumblr dot com. If you just want to be hateful, send some mail to Suzanne Collins and ask her why Gale hated the Capitol and created the bomb that killed Prim.

I write these stories out of my love and respect for the characters that Suzanne Collins has created. I do not do this for money. It is not my line of work. I do it for the sheer enjoyment it brings to me. Thank you for the feedback, the reviews and most of all for reading. I appreciate it. S and A, thank you for all you have done and all you continue to do. You are the best.

Let's not linger here anymore. Let's go to...

Mockingjay: Broken Wings

Gale walked a step behind Katniss towards her quarters wondering what he was going to do. Listening to her talk that afternoon about President Snow's cowardice had churned feelings inside of him he had been trying to bury. Being in love with someone else's wife was not something he took pride in, and he was sure he was on his way back to friendship with Katniss, then she went and showed that side of her...that combination of bravery and vulnerability that captured everyone's hearts. "You want to hunt this afternoon with our new bows?" His was a real work of art he got while in the weapons department. It wasn't anything like Katniss' that came to life when she spoke, but still, it was the most beautifully crafted bow he had ever touched. "Might make you feel better."

"I'm fine," Katniss smiled up at him and Gale had to remind himself he couldn't let her do this to him. He couldn't open up his heart to her again, but she looked so... Gale made a little grunting noise. "You okay?" Katniss asked him.

"Yeah." 'Hell no,' he thought to himself. 'Those Capitol people turned you into something I've never seen before.' Catnip actually looked sexy as sin wearing all that dark eye makeup, her lips stained from the lipstick they had applied, and she wiped off. "So...um...did you want to...go hunt?"

"Not really." She stood outside of her quarters with her hand on the door. "I'm just going to get this stuff off and write some stuff down."

"Write some stuff down? Got another list of demands?" Gale leaned against the wall hoping she'd invite him in, telling himself he should really leave, 'Get the hell out of here. She belongs to Peeta.'

"Guess you could say it's therapy so I'll stop talking to Peeta." She grinned. "Doctor thinks it might be good if I wrote to him every now and then instead."

He gave her a slow nod, but didn't hear a word she said. 'You really have no idea what you're doing to me, do you Catnip?' He tried not to think about her in that way, but he couldn't help it. She looked so gorgeous all dressed up. "You should stay that way. I like the way that stuff makes your eyes look."

Katniss twisted her face, "Thought you hated what my prep team did to me?"

"I hated why they did it to you, not the end result." He gave her a crooked smile. "There's nothing wrong with looking attractive every now and then, Catnip."

"Every now and then?" She let out a little laugh and gave her head a little shake. "You two are so different. You really are."

"Who?"

"You and Peeta." She twisted her doorknob. "You're standing there telling me I should stay all made up, and if he were here he'd be handing me a warm washcloth so I could get rid of it all." The smile Gale had on his face slowly disappeared. "See you later." She closed the door, and like that Gale was left alone with his thoughts.

'She's taken. He's not here.' The mental debate began in his head. 'Would you really do that to Peeta? You mean what he did to me? Take the girl I loved? Are you in love with her? If you were wouldn't you try to understand some of the points she's brought up lately?' He didn't like that way of thinking. 'Yeah...if she were right...I'd agree with her.' Gale headed for his quarters, stopping at the door's entrance when he heard the sounds of children laughing coming from behind it. He loved his brothers and sister, but he really didn't feel like being trapped behind closed doors with them at the moment. He needed a place to get his mind off of things. Off of Catnip. The woods would've been his first choice, but they were currently off limits. There was a place he could go though. Gale entered the area Beetee was holed up in and asked for him. He was led to the Special Weaponry area and saw the man sitting at a computer screen pushing buttons and talking to himself. "Hey, Beetee."

"Gale," there was a hint of surprise in his tone. "What brings you back here?"

"I was thinking of that snare to capture the hummingbirds." He took a seat next to the man. "Wondering if maybe you wanted me to work on something like that for you."

"Not for the hummingbirds, but there is something you could do that may be of help." Beetee pulled up what he was working on. "Talk of your snare gave me an idea for a weapon, though I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to snares, I do have experience in capturing prey."

"What type of weapon?" Gale looked over the rough schematics Beetee was working on. "Are these live electrical wires?"

"Yes," Beetee nodded. "I used something similar during my Games, though I never really thought about using it in a grander scale until you spoke earlier."

"Looks like a good idea, but...where are you going to get the source of electricity? It would probably work better if if didn't require any. Maybe turn it into...hmmm" Gale studied it and suggested, "What if you didn't use electricity, but explosives instead?"

"Explosives?" Beetee began pushing at some buttons. "A bomb of sorts."

"Not of sorts." Gale was picturing his district getting firebombed and retribution that was rightly his. "A bomb. Period."

…..

Her red wig was in place. Red and black eyelashes were applied. Bright blue eye shadow accentuated her large eyes, bright red lips with black liner around them and pale skin. Effie Trinket was ready to enter the nightlife scene of the Capitol. Her snug fitting red and black pantsuit wasn't something she'd normally wear, but she needed mobility tonight. Effie was going on the hunt. It was her last shot at freedom before being taken into custody, because if her plan failed, whether the traitor told Snow about her or not, chances were she would be found out. "Mr. Tanner, you can drop me off at the end of the block. I shall walk from there."

"Can't do that ma'am. Your safety comes first." He opened the car door for her.

"If that were true, then you wouldn't jeopardize my cover," She glared at him the moment he sat next to her. "I am going into an area where there are known rebels, and your..."

"Exactly why I need to stay by your side." he interrupted her.

"Do you want me to fail?" She snapped. "Do you want me to die?! Unlike you, these people will not think twice about slitting my throat!"

They argued back and forth with one another until they were only a mile away from the bar Effie had sent Haymitch a message from. "Mr. Tanner," she lowered her voice down. "I am trying to understand why you insist that your purpose is to protect me, yet you feel the need to threaten my existence by entering that place alongside of me."

He pulled over to the side of the road. "Miss. Trinket, I'm trying to figure out why you continually put your life in danger."

"One must really wonder why you haven't climbed up the ladder of success when you're so free with your opinions," Effie said in a huff.

"I'm the private Peacekeeper of the president's personal assistant. I'd say I'm doing well considering where I started." He reached for his ankle and unstrapped a gun. "Do you know how to shoot one of these?"

"I shot one once." Effie stared at the weapon. Images of Viggo Bettes body crumpling in front of her, flashed before her eyes. "I am in no way a marksman."

"They aim themselves." He held the gun out to her then paused. "You're not going to kill me to get even for that whole knife thing, are you?"

Effie couldn't help the grin. "No." She snatched the gun out of his hand. "How do I use this?"

"First of all, you need to put it someplace safe...someplace it won't be seen."

"You kept yours in your boot, perhaps that would be the wisest place for me to keep it as well?" The gun felt similar to the last one she held.

"There's a laser on here that will point at your target When it's in sight all you have to do is squeeze the trigger." Steven waited until she tucked it into her boot. "Promise me you'll use it if you get into danger."

"I shall use it if I get into danger," Effie was planning on using it to keep her from danger.

"One hour Miss. Trinket. You have one hour before I head in there to find you." He pulled a band out of his pocket and strapped it around her wrist. "Tuck this under your sleeve. If you need me all you have to do is push the button on the side and call for me."

"Can everyone hear us with this?" If so, then she was caught for sure.

"No ma'am. I have it set on a private frequency. It's linked to my communication band only." He looked at his watch. "Time starts now, Miss. Trinket. Sixty minutes."

Effie gave him a curt nod and headed down the street towards Carter's bar. It was time to put an end to the traitorous pig once and for all. She entered the crowded club. Since the start of the war her fellow residents seemed to be on a partying rampage. If she thought the club was busy the first time she went there, tonight it was packed as tight as a can of sardines. She felt herself being bumped and pushed against other people, but no one paid any mind to it. They all seemed to be in their own little inebriated world. Effie scanned the crowd...the bar, but the person she needed to see was nowhere in sight. She walked to the bar, squeezed her way to the counter and waited for the woman Carter was in love with to greet her, but she wasn't there. She considered making an inquiry about her whereabouts, but she could be recognized, and that would do her no good. "What can I get ya?" A man behind the bar slapped a napkin in front of Effie.

"Whiskey neat." She wished Haymitch was there by her side. His favorite drink would have to suffice. In the corner of her eye she saw the girl she needed to speak with walking towards the backdoor, pulling a light jacket over her shoulders. Effie forgot about her drink order and forced her way through the maze of people until she stepped out into the dark alleyway behind the bar. Her head turned from one side to the other in search of Carter...his girlfriend...anyone. Effie could feel the blood pumping through her veins when she saw the flash of color hidden in the crook of the building about ten yards away. She pulled out the gun from her boot, tucked it behind her tiny purse and walked on her tiptoes. Static and crackling sounds began to filter quietly out of the archway where the person was hiding. Then the sound of a voice came through.

"Airwaves will be flooded within twenty-four hours. I repeat, airwaves will be flooded within twenty-four hours."

Effie could hear the huff of air coming from the area. She stepped to the side and saw first hand what the rebel's traitor was up to. Mentally taking notes as she listened to a device in regards to the rebel's upcoming plans. "Have you heard enough, Ianthe?" Effie held the gun up to the startled woman. "Or should I call you, orange blossom?"

"Do I..." a hint of recognition flashed in the woman's eyes. "Effie Trinket. And here we thought you were on our side." Effie wasn't sure exactly which side the 'we' she referred to was.

"Set the device down at your feet," Effie could feel her insides trembling as the girl placed the portable radio onto the ground. "Kick it towards me."

"Tell me Effie, do you think you'll be able to get away with this?" The orange skinned girl's voice was too calm...too collected for Effie's taste.

"With what? Getting rid of a traitor such as yourself?" Effie glared at the woman. "Yes. I believe I will." She bent at the knees, never taking her eyes off of Ianthe and picked up the device. "What is this?"

"You don't really expect me to tell you, do you?" There was humor in Ianthe's eyes. "Good luck figuring it out on your own."

She moved the gun closer to Ianthe, "I was able to figure out that you were the traitor. I'm sure I'll be able to handle this as well." But Effie didn't know and the machine kept spewing out information.

"...within forty-eight hours. Repeat. The packages will be picked up within forty-eight hours."

"The packages?" Effie could only assume that they referred to the prisoners. "I really must speak with them regarding a more complicated verbal code." She gestured with her chin towards the trash disposal area. "Move."

Effie pressed the barrel of the gun into Ianthe's back as she walked. "How will you explain my disappearance to President Snow on the very same night that you showed up in Carter's club?"

"Simple. You were nowhere to be found. You do have a choice Ianthe. Tell me what information you've passed onto the president and I can arrange for you to be held somewhere safe until the rebels come to rescue us."

"You have a choice as well, Effie. Put the gun down and I'll let you live." Effie could hear the certainty in the girl's voice, and it terrified her to the core. "Carter will find out about this, and your cover will be given up immediately. The only reason he's with you rebels is to save me," she let out a disturbing chuckle. "Idiot."

"Carter will stand by the rebels, not some conniving woman that's been fooling him for...how long has it been, Ianthe?" Effie could hear the sounds of the bracelet Steven gave to her start to crackle. "Stop there," she ordered Ianthe when they were close to the trash disposal system many of the bars had behind their business to quickly remove waste. Could she do this? Kill this woman in cold blood without finding out any information? And what was she supposed to do with the body? Her intentions that night had been to out her to Carter and hope he would do the right thing, then Steven gave her the gun, and now the right thing was left up to Effie. "This is your last chance," her voice was shaking. "What did you tell the president?"

"If you're wondering if he knows about you...keep wondering. As a matter of fact, you can keep wondering about everything I've told him. The secret room you've been meeting in. Peeta's involvement with the rebellion." Ianthe glared at Effie through narrow eyes. "Your involvement with them. Do you think the man is an idiot? He didn't rise to power by being stupid."

Effie could feel herself shaking. "What have you told him?!"

"You'll never find out." The sound of people exiting the bar from the backdoor, and laughter caused Effie to look over her shoulder, but that was all it took for a trained spy to make her move.

Ianthe grabbed Effie's wrist, pushing it away and to the side so the barrel of the gun was no longer pointed at her. Effie dropped her purse, the small radio and began to struggle with the woman. She had never been in an altercation in her life, and knew she was no match for this woman. As Ianthe pushed her down to the ground, kneed her in the stomach, and continued to try and force the gun from Effie's grasp, she thought of Peeta, and how he had killed the Peacekeepers so easily. Loose pebbles began to dig into her back, her fingers were growing numb from clamping onto the gun so tightly, and the communication band around her wrist began to vibrate causing Ianthe to loosen up her hold momentarily, but that was all Effie needed to pull the gun between their bodies and squeeze the trigger. The muffled shot caused Ianthe to moan in pain. Effie rolled the woman's body over and quickly got to her feet.

"You won't..." Ianthe began to choke. "They'll...find out...about...you." Her hands were clenched over the gunshot wound Effie had caused in her stomach.

Effie nervously looked around. The couple that had exited the bar were gone, but someone else was roaming about in the darkness. The commotion from the street full of people drinking and laughing...the sounds of the bar's thumping bass had disguised the gunshot, but anyone would be able to see the puddle of blood currently pouring out of Ianthe as well as the woman's injured body. She looked to the side and saw exactly what she needed.

"Peeta will...be tortured...to death," Ianthe let out a crazed, sickly laugh. "Katnissss..." she choked as Effie dragged her by the arms towards the trash. "That baby of...of theirs...will be...raised...by Snow...when..."

That was all Effie had to hear. "Over my dead body!" She had no clue where her strength came from, but a surge of power shot through Effie as she lifted Ianthe's upper body off the ground and pushed her head into the trash disposal system. "I'll make sure to give Carter your best." She lifted Ianthe's feet and pushed like her life depended on it. The raging flames of the equipment instantly shot up when it sensed a foreign object, engulfing Ianthe's screaming body as Effie grabbed the gun and the rebel's radio and tucked them into her purse. "Steven...Mr. Tanner," she pushed the button on her bracelet. "Where are you?"

"Here," Effie turned around and saw her Peacekeeper standing twenty-five feet behind her. "We need to get you out of here. Someone in the club may have heard that gun."

Effie was shaking like a leaf as her guard took hold of her arm and dragged her towards the street around the back of the building. "Mr. Tanner...Steven?"

"Walk," his voice was stern. "Whatever you do, don't look back."

This caused Effie to look back over her shoulder. "Dear me," she gasped when she saw the body of Carter Darlington lying dead in a pool of his own blood with a gun in his hand. "Did you..."

"Keep walking Miss. Trinket." Steven got her to their car, pushed her into her seat and entered on his side. "You need an alibi."

"My goodness," her whole body was like ice. "What have you done?"

"I saved your life. Did you really think I was going to let you face rebels on your own?" He snapped at her, and gripped the steering wheel of the car. "You need an alibi."

"I need to clean the blood off of my hands." She looked down at the wet spot she felt on her stomach, but Ianthe's blood was disguised by her black clothing.

"Take off your gloves," he ordered her and began digging through the glove compartment. "Here," he handed her some tissues and a bottle of water. "Moisten the tissues and wipe your hands clean."

"Mr. Tanner?" She had no idea what was going on in his mind. Did he know what she had done? Was he on her side? Did he think she killed a rebel or was he aware that she had just killed the Capitol's spy? "Why...why did you..." a thought came to Effie. "If you were going to be watching me, then why did you give me a gun?"

"My job is to protect you," he said through gritted teeth. "I took an oath, Miss. Trinket, and that means something to me. I pledged to dedicate my life to your safety. If that means I have to help you break out of the Capitol, then that's what I have to do."

She swallowed hard. "Break out?"

"They know," he let out a huge gust of air. "At least they would've if I hadn't shut down the surveillance to the residencies on the president's property."

"That was you?" Was this man a rebel dressed as a Peacekeeper? "Why would you do that?"

He whipped his head in her direction. "How many times do I have to tell you? I swore to protect you!"

"You mean...you're willing to break the law in order to...keep your word?" Effie couldn't imagine such a thing.

"Would you rather I be like all the rest of the Peacekeepers they swear in and switch my allegiance at the drop of a hat?" He smacked his hand against the steering wheel again. "Give me the gun." Effie faltered. "If I wanted you dead, I'd have let that man find you in the alley. Now, give me the gun." he held his hand out to her.

Effie didn't know if she should or shouldn't give up the only weapon in her possession until he reached for her purse. "Wait." She didn't want him to see the radio. "I'll get it for you."

"Miss. Trinket," his face was stern but almost friendly. "Please don't shoot me. Right now I'm the only thing keeping you alive." She placed the gun in the palm of his hand just as a group of Peacekeepers rounded the corner. "We're going back to the bar."

"No, I can't..."

"You can." Steven started the car. "I'm going to drive you to the door, you're going to...did anyone recognize you in there tonight?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Good. You're going to be recognized now." Steven pulled the car to a stop just at the door's entrance. "Walk up to one of the attendants at the entrance. Ask them if there's a charge to enter the club or if you're able to simply walk in." He looked her over to make sure there were no visible signs of blood. "From the looks of all the Peacekeepers coming this way, they're not going to let anyone in. I'll get out of the vehicle and try to get information from one of them...let them know I just brought you here."

"In other words, our alibi is that we were still traveling here?"

"That's it."

"Mr. Tanner, you're quite smart for a Peacekeeper." She gave herself the once over in the mirror. "What if they let me in?"

"They won't, and when they tell you that you can't enter, act like...like it's a..." He struggled to find the words.

"Act like a snob," Effie found them for him.

"Yes." He looked through the rear view window. "Go on, Miss. Trinket. I'll get you out of here in a few minutes." Steven Tanner wasn't lying. The second Effie approached the doorway Peacekeepers stopped her from entering the building. Steven hopped out of the vehicle and began conversing with a fellow guard then led her back to their waiting vehicle. "That went well." He started driving them back to Effie's quarters. "Now all of them know you didn't arrive until after the murders."

"Murders?" Effie said quietly.

"They've already discovered the woman's body. The stench of burning flesh is quite distinctive."

"Yes...well..."

"Tell you what Miss. Trinket. I'll keep your secret about that woman, if you keep mine about that man." He gave her a quick glance. "Deal?"

"Deal," she said. Her voice full of question, and shame. "I...I had no choice Mr. Tanner. I had to..." Effie clamped her lips together and focused out the window.

"I'm aware. She would've blown your cover."

Effie whipped her head around to face him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're a spy Miss. Trinket. A rebel spy." He pulled over to the side of the road an stopped the car. "You're lucky I found out when I did. Now the trick is to get you out of the Capitol."

This could have been a trick on the president's part, so Effie didn't admit to a thing. "If it hadn't been such a difficult night, I'd take offense at your statement."

Steven let out a laugh. "If I hadn't sworn an oath to protect you, I'd have killed you the moment I found that computer of yours." Effie's hand flew to her corset. "You're going to need a new hiding place for that thing. Chances are you'll start getting searched before entering a room with that tribute from Twelve."

"His name is Peeta." It was all over now. Effie had been discovered. "Will they be waiting for me when I return?"

"No ma'am. Not unless that woman you killed told them who you were, and like I said, I fudged with the security surveillance earlier so no one saw you when you left your bedroom earlier."

"What?" Effie's hand flew to her mouth. "Mr. Tanner. How do you know about that?"

"Why do you think I left you alone with one of the worst Peacekeepers in the Capitol? Why I told you about the underground railroad to begin with? I figured you'd need to take a look around after I showed you a way out." Steven started the car. "Surveillance is down in your room for the night, so if you have any more questions you can ask me there, but I wouldn't suggest it. Snow's good for putting in portable devices. And no more taking off, Miss. Trinket. I can't protect you if I don't know where you are."

"Yes. All right," she agreed. After a moment she turned to face him and asked in utter disbelief, "Who are you?"

"Tanner. Steven Tanner. Son of Alexandria and Horatio Tanner, Peacekeeper from District Two, sworn to protect Effie Trinket's life no matter what the cost." He stole a peek at her. "Even if she's a rebel and I'm not."

"Then you'll have your work cut out for you in a few hours," Effie sat back in her seat. "The president expects me to try and convince Peeta that Katniss was responsible for the destruction of Twelve, and I shall not do it." Her chin was held high. "There are some things I cannot bring myself to do, even if that means sacrificing myself."

"What if you brought Peeta back to Twelve?" Mr. Tanner suggested. "You could suggest it to Snow. Maybe seeing what was done will help to convince Peeta..."

"I refuse..."

"Miss. Trinket," he interrupted her. "Let me finish. You could tell Snow that seeing the destruction of his home...where his family died, may help, but before that," he turned to face Effie. "Can you get a message to those people? Tell them you're going to be in Twelve? Then they can get you out."

"Are you really willing to help with the rescue of Peeta?"

"Not Peeta. You." Steven told her. "Of course, I can't allow Peeta to leave my custody, but they could capture you and take you back to...wherever they're hiding."

"What about the others?"

"I didn't sign up to protect the others," he glared at Effie. "You're my problem. Not them."

Effie gave this some careful consideration. If she could get Peeta to Twelve he might have a chance at survival. "I will only go if Peeta comes with me," Effie said with a straight and determined expression.

"Can't do that, Miss. Trinket. I can't willingly allow the escape of a rebel."

"What makes me so different?" Effie raised her voice.

"Told you before. I took an..."

"Oh, dear me. If you start speaking about that damn oath again I shall surely vomit." She pursed her lips. "If you want to save me, you must save Peeta. That is my deal. If not, I shall walk into Snow's office and inform him of what happened this evening."

"You'll do no such thing," Mr. Tanner glared at her as if calling her bluff.

Effie arched her brow and said, "I, like you, Mr. Tanner, am somewhat of an oddity. Unlike the rest of the people in the Capitol, I consider all human life a valuable commodity. Some more than others, and Peeta..." She tried to explain in a way he could relate to. "Mr. Tanner you have sworn to protect me even if it means your own death. I have pledged my life to Katniss and Peeta Mellark. I will die for them."

He blew out a breath of exasperation and said, "You know they'll kill me once I let you two go."

"I shall take you with me. You can fight for the rebellion if you like or face their courts, which I'm sure are much fairer than President Snow's."

He let out a burst of laughter. "Other than you, I have no use for rebel scum. I'd gladly die before I let them take me into custody."

Effie pursed her lips, "Then I guess we've made our decision."

"Guess so." He looked over his shoulder before pulling out into the street. "I'll help you get Peeta out of here too, but that's it. The rest are on their own."

Effie felt her heart leap to her throat as she thought, 'No, they shall have me, and I shall have you Mr. Tanner.' Getting Peeta out of Snow's hands was her primary goal. Her second would be to return to the Capitol and get the rest of the prisoners out.

…..

….

…..

Katniss held her breath as she walked down the corridors towards the medical bay wearing the clothing designated for each of thirteen's residents, swathed in one of Peeta's oversized sweaters. She kept her eyes straight ahead as she passed families returning to their quarters after their evening meal hoping that no one would pay attention to her. The door felt like it weighed about a hundred pounds as she pushed it open. "Regina?" Katniss looked around the empty room. Prim had told her to be here after dinner, but no one else was there. Katniss took a peek inside of the small exam room Regina had taken her into while her mother worked on her prep team to find that empty as well. The combination of silence and the stench of antiseptic left her thinking of the Capitol's medical facility after her first Games. The chair in the corner of the large exam room faced the door which enabled her to see who was entering. "Tell me I'm doing the right thing. I can't keep hiding this. If the wrong person finds out and tells Coin...I can't keep worrying about this. I have to stay focused, and hiding banana nut is becoming a problem. You'd think it would be easy considering I'm not showing, but..." she let out an exasperated sigh, "...how am I supposed to keep a secret when everyone here has implanted themselves in the middle of my life. It doesn't help that that damn DNA scanner screamed it out today either. Guess Regina didn't know about those security systems downstairs." She leaned her head against the wall and decided to stop complaining to Peeta. "Saw your message the other day," she smiled softly. "I love you too. If you only knew how much it meant to me to hear you say that...just to see you...knowing you were thinking about me...about the baby. We think about you all the time, and you'll be happy to know our trunks are now in my possession, as is the quilt you packed up for me, but I can't seem to find Peeta's Sunset. You didn't bring that back home did you? Maybe you did and forgot to tell me about it, but I could've sworn you..."

"Katniss?" The sound of Dr. Valero's voice interrupted her conversation with Peeta.

"Hi," she stopped moving her lips, and spoke to Peeta in her mind instead. 'Talk to you later. I've got to take care of this right now.' "Thanks for meeting me." She got up and greeted Regina, Justus and Lavinia. "Is there someplace safe we can talk?"

Lavinia motioned with her hand for them to follow her into the private exam room, opened up a medical supply door and stepped inside.

"This is perfect." Katniss didn't know how to start the conversation, but it seemed Justus had plenty to say as his hands started moving a mile a minute. "What's he saying?" She asked.

"He wants to know if he should stand guard outside the door in case anyone comes," Regina signed as she spoke. "Katniss, do we need him to keep an eye out?"

"He'll want to hear this too, but...maybe..." She didn't know what to do.

"Justus, why don't you keep watch and I'll let you know what's been said afterward?" Regina ran her hand over his shoulder and looked at him with such an enormous amount of love that Katniss couldn't help the feelings of envy running through her. How she wished she could do that. Run her hand over Peeta's shoulder...thread her fingers through his...even the idea of standing next to him was welcomed.

"Regina," Katniss spoke softly. "I don't think we can continue this charade. One of my prep team members...I think she knows about the baby. That DNA scanner today... Everything is becoming so overwhelming, I can't keep track of the lies I'm telling. Even sticking my arm into the computerized terminal before each meal is giving me away. Do you know I've gained two pounds? Two pounds!"

"That's good, Katniss. You needed to put some weight on after leaving the arena. However, I see your point. President Coin has requested that I supply one of the physicians here with your medical records for a second opinion, and Beetee kept asking me questions after I told him the blood we used on you may have affected your DNA scan," the amount of concern in Dr. Valero's voice told Katniss she wasn't the only one that had been worrying about this. "I've had to fudge a few records...hide some blood in case they go snooping into it, but it should be enough to keep them from questioning it for now."

"What do we do?" Katniss looked to Lavinia. "You should have never allowed them to use your medical records for me. Now they'll know you were part of this." The Avox shook her head frantically, squeezed Katniss' hand and moved her fingers.

Regina let out a little burst of air through her nostrils and said with pride, "She's spelling the words out with the alphabet. Give me a minute." Regina began translating for Lavinia, "I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried about you and the baby."

"Thank you, Lavinia, but I am worried. About all of us." Katniss gulped and said, "I think we should let President Coin know I'm still pregnant, and tell her that I'm willing to keep it to myself for as long as possible. That I'll still be her Mockingjay."

"No," Regina spoke and Lavinia signed out the letters N-O. "Katniss, if you want to wait until Peeta is rescued, I will agree to that, but telling her now will only give her a reason to hurt you." Once Peeta was back Katniss could step down from her position as Mockingjay. With any luck their president would be happy with him and leave Katniss alone to finish out her pregnancy.

Katniss looked down at the prominent bump underneath her doctor's clothing. "She won't hurt me while I'm in front of the camera, but she would hurt you...hurt Adam, wouldn't she?"

"Not the baby, but me...possibly...after I give birth. They're desperate for children here. With me being able to reproduce, perhaps she'd be lenient on me, but that's not the topic at hand. We need to figure out a way to disguise your condition until Peeta gets back and you can step down."

"How?"

"Continue doing your job as their Mockingjay...live your life as normally as possible, and leave the computer systems up to me and Justus. We'll figure something out." Regina took Katniss' hand. "Justus said the rebels are sending a radio message through the broadcast networks to let the rebels in the Capitol know they'll be proceeding with the rescue mission within the next day or two. District Four, Six and Seven has control over communications now, so it'll be difficult to trace it back here."

"I didn't know we still had rebels at the Capitol that were in a position to help," this was news to Katniss. "How many are there?"

"A few, but not many. Most escaped with the hovercraft." Lavinia began to spell something out for Regina to translate. "There are more people than you think on the rebel's side. Every Avox and working attendant would gladly fight on the rebel's side if given the chance."

"If we ever get to the Capitol to fight, I'll make sure to bring them some extra guns," Katniss said in an attempt to rid the tiny closet of gloom. "Peeta should be back within the next couple of days." There was a chance that he'd be dead by then, but Katniss refused to let it enter her mind. "The second he's back and on his feet..."

"I'll tell Coin myself," Regina told her. "I'll throw myself on her mercy...beg for forgiveness..."

"Tell her you know about the pox," Katniss grinned. "You know there aren't many residents of Thirteen that can still have children, and you were only thinking of the district's future." Katniss ran her hand over her stomach and said, "Better yet, let me tell her. You can be in the room, but I want to tell her I'm still pregnant in front of the rebels. Let her explain her orders to commit murder in front of them. Maybe they'll see her for who she really is."

"Do you really want to do that, Katniss? Make an enemy of another president?" Regina asked.

"It's my specialty," she said with a straight face. "Seems they all hate me."

Lavinia signed something to Regina who chuckled. "Well, you've got a fan in Lavinia," Regina said. "And two in Justus and myself." She ran her hand over her abdomen. "Three actually."

Katniss grinned at her. "That's a start. Maybe we could have Justus take Coin's place. A decent and fair president would be a nice change of pace."

"I'll let him know he's got your support, but he seems to think, and I agree, that Effie Trinket might be the best person to run this rebellion's efforts." Lavinia was nodding frantically.

"Once she's here, we'll bring it up with her." Katniss felt a lot better now that she talked things through with her own little band of rebels. "Any chance of me seeing banana nut while we're in here?"

"Absolutely. Prim brought your device in today, but I wasn't able to show her how to use it with all the hullabaloo." Regina pulled it out of her pocket and held it in front of Katniss' stomach. "What do you say we see how much its grown?"

"I'd like that," Katniss began moving her lips. "Want to see banana nut, Peeta? We're almost at the ten week mark." She began repeating everything Regina told her to her missing husband in the hopes that he could sense she and the baby were all right.

…..

The nightmare that attacked Peeta's dreams froze him in place. His entire body was like a stiff board. His eyes zipped around the dank prison cell, his heart was beating out of his chest, and the sight of Darius' torture was still fresh in his mind. For a change, everything around him was crystal clear. There were no glowing edges surrounding the bars of his cell, or the prisoners. They had finally removed the dead mentor from District Six, but the man's blood was still pooled on the ground. The occasional sniffle was heard from Annie's jail cell, and Peeta worried about the woman Finnick loved so much. She was one of the few the Capitol barely questioned. When they did take her away, she was usually gone for about twenty minutes or less, then placed back in her holding cell. "Annie?" Peeta whispered. "You okay down there?"

"Yes," she squeaked out. "For the time being. How about yourself?"

"Had a hell of a nightmare, but I'm better now," Peeta answered.

"Peeta? Do you think we'll ever get out of here?"

"I know we will, Annie." Peeta had to believe it. "Right now, Katniss and Finnick are probably digging a tunnel into the jail to rescue us."

"Are you doing better with your memories of her?"

Peeta scooted to the edge of his cell and tried to make out the woman he was speaking to. The shadow of her body was all he could see. "Sometimes when I dream, I know everything, and when I wake up...it's like nothing is wrong, but then I start to remember the things they've showed me...they've said, and..."

"You should concentrate on a good memory with her." Annie suggested. "Can you remember anything happy?"

"Yeah," at that moment in time he could remember almost everything about Katniss. The way he felt about her. The way her skin felt. Her hair. Her smile. How nervous she was the first time they met for lunch. "Did you know that Katniss and I started dating before the Games ever began?"

Annie shuffled closer to the bars of her cell. "No. I thought you two didn't know each other before the Games."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to believe everything you see on TV?" Peeta chuckled. "Most of what I said was true, about falling in love with her when I was a kid...me pretty much spending my entire life thinking she had no clue who I was, or that I existed." Peeta thought back to the moment everything changed between he and Katniss. "I actually told Katniss I had a crush on her when we got trapped in an elevator while touring the mines in our district. Don't ask me how I did it, but I convinced her to meet me for lunch the next day at school, but she wasn't allowed to date, and I didn't want to get her in trouble so I suggested a place close to the school, but far enough away that no one would see us." He rested his head against one of the bars. "That first date was so nerve wracking. I was petrified she wouldn't show up."

"I'm guessing she did," Johanna's voice joined the conversation.

"Hey," Peeta smiled at his neighbor. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"Yeah, because I was getting so much rest on this luxurious bed they've provided for me," Johanna said sarcastically. "What happened? Did she show up or what?"

"Yeah, she showed up. She even agreed to meet me the next day too." Peeta could picture the autumnal shades of the leaves of the oak tree. "You have no clue how long it took me to work up the nerve to hold her hand. I mean...I held it that day we were trapped in the elevator, but she was pretty scared, her dad died in those mines. Making a move like that while on a date...that was a whole other story."

They had been meeting under the tree for over a week, and everyday before Katniss would leave, Peeta would ask her to meet him for lunch again on the next school day except yesterday. It had crossed his mind that she might have been showing up because she felt obligated to, so Peeta figured he wouldn't ask her, yet he'd still show up, and maybe she would too. If she did, he was going to do it. He was going to hold her hand again, or at least try to. He hadn't even asked Delly to come with him that day just in case Katniss was a no show. Peeta waited for over ten minutes at the edge of the cluster of trees to the side of their normal meeting place, he hoped and prayed that the elusive Katniss Everdeen didn't let him down. When he saw her taking a leisurely stroll underneath the oak tree and looking around, he knew...he just knew, she actually liked him.

"You waiting for someone in particular?" He asked as he casually walked up to her.

"Oh," she turned to face him. "You're here. I um...I wasn't sure if...I mean you didn't ask me yesterday so I didn't know if you wanted to..." she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why didn't you ask me to lunch today?"

"Why didn't you ask me to lunch?" He countered.

She looked around before settling her sights on him. "Fair enough. Guess I could've done the asking too."

"Well, it seems we're both here, and we both have our lunches with us...think we should eat together?"

Katniss scowled at him. "Don't get cocky." She sat with her back against the tree. "What did you bring?"

"Stale bread and jam," Peeta answered. "You?"

"Rabbit and goat cheese."

"Hey, I love rabbit," Peeta reached for her bag to take a peek inside.

"You told me," Katniss reached for Peeta's bag and spread it out across the ground after emptying its contents. "I like this bread. What's it called again?"

"Cornbread. Tastes good with jam on it or with stew or soups or something like that." He hadn't felt so nervous since the first day he spent having lunch with her. "So...how's classes today? Ready for Beast's test?"

"Not really," Katniss separated their lunch into equal portions and began nibbling at the rabbit. "What's the point? Pass or fail, my future is already set in stone."

"Stop thinking that way, Katniss," Peeta spread a little goat cheese over a piece of rabbit and bit into it. "You have no clue what your future holds," he spoke with a full mouth. "For all you know you could marry a man from town and work in his business." He hadn't realized what he was insinuating until Katniss stopped moving and stared straight ahead. "I'm not saying that...I mean...you could always wind up marrying...or not marrying...maybe you could..." Peeta dropped his rabbit onto the bag Katniss had set in front of him as a plate. "I sound like an imbecile don't I?"

"You said it. Not me." She glanced at him. "Maybe we should just eat."

"Sure." Peeta didn't say a word to her until he was finished with his lunch. "These are usually the best meals of my day. I don't normally get this much food at home."

"Really?" She gave him a strange look.

"Mmmm hmmm," he wiped his greasy fingers on his pant leg. "Don't have any napkins, but you can use my pants if you want."

"That's okay. I'll use my bag." She was quiet for a couple of seconds then asked, "So you really don't get to eat the stuff you bake?"

"If we did that, how would we make any money?"

"Guess I never thought about it that way before." Katniss wrapped up their trash and placed it to the side. "Always thought you merchant kids got a lot more food than those of us from the Seam."

"Suppose I do get more than most people from the Seam, but not you. I think you're probably the best fed family in Twelve, other than the Undersees and Haymitch Abernathy." Peeta chuckled to himself. "From what I've seen of that guy though, he pretty much drinks all of his meals."

"Can you imagine that?" Katniss leaned her head back against the tree. "Having all that money and wasting it away on alcohol. I'd never do that."

"What would you do if you had as much money as him?" He was curious as to what she'd spend her money on. Would she buy something personal or spend it all on her family?

Peeta watched her face as she took careful consideration of his question then answered, "Make sure there was always food on the table, coal for the stove, and I'd probably buy some napkins so you could wipe your fingers on something other than your clothes everyday," Katniss gave him one of her rare smiles.

"Forget the napkins. I'd rather have the food and coal." Peeta grinned back at her. "I'd buy art supplies."

"What?!" Katniss turned her entire body towards him. "Why on earth would you buy something like that?"

"Why not?" Peeta shrugged. "Hey, it's my fantasy. Don't ruin it with logic."

Katniss let out a little snort of laughter. "Oh, well if we're fantasizing... I'd buy the best bow ever made."

"There you go," Peeta scooted closer to her. "Something really fancy made out of... What are they made out of?"

"Depends. My father carved all of mine out of wood."

"Wow. I bet people would pay a lot of money for something like that."

"Don't really need a lot of money to survive, so I try not to worry about it too much," Katniss said with a straight face then laughed. The sound of it caused a chill to run up Peeta's spine."Could you imagine? Me not worrying about money?"

"Yeah, that would be the day." Peeta knew that was pretty much all she was concerned about. "Providing for your family is all you know how to do, Katniss. It's who you are. I bet if you were rich like Abernathy, you'd still sneak into the woods so you could bring home game."

"I like fresh meat," she shrugged. "Fish. I love fish."

"Me too, but we hardly ever get any. It's too expensive." Peeta picked up a twig and started doodling in the dirt. "You know what I'd really do if I had that kind of money?" he turned his attention to Katniss. "I'd make sure you never had to worry about providing for your family again, and then I'd buy art supplies."

"Why would you do that?" Katniss asked him with a serious expression across her face.

"I love to sketch...paint... It..."

"Not that. I meant, why would you make sure my family was provided for?" Katniss started to fiddle with the lace on her boot. "You have your own family to worry about."

"My family would do just fine without me," Peeta said sadly. "Yours would too, but...I don't know...I think I'd like taking care of you instead of you having to take care of everyone else for a change. If you think about it, you've been feeding my family for years. I know none of us Mellark men are going out and hunting squirrel."

"That's silly. Your dad makes trades with me. I'm not taking care of your family." She almost looked offended. "And I make fair trades too."

"Never said you didn't," Peeta worried that he said something for her to take offense at. "I didn't mean anything by saying I would take care of you and your family, Katniss. Just thought it would feel good to do something nice for someone else. That's all."

"I know." she started gnawing at her bottom lip. "Peeta, you know I'm never getting married, right?"

"You've said it on more than one occasion." He wondered if he should have said anything about wanting to take care of her and her family at all.

"That means I can't really have a boyfriend either."

This caused major concern for him. "Just because two people date doesn't mean they have to get married or anything." Now he was certain he shouldn't have said anything. "Katniss," scaring her off was not his intention, "you're not going to stop coming to lunch with me now, are you?"

Her worried expression frightened Peeta. "We said friends...we'd be friends."

"I know, but..." Peeta took a deep breath and timidly took her hand in his, "...I don't want to be just your friend, Katniss."

Her fingers lay limply between the palms of his hands. "I...I shouldn't be here." Katniss pulled her hand from his and hopped to her feet. "We shouldn't have..." her head began to shake back and forth, "...I don't want this!" Peeta stood in her way before she could dart off. He wasn't sure if it was fear or anger in her eyes. "You told me we could...friends, Peeta! Friends!"

'Anger,' Peeta realized, 'She's definitely mad at me.' "I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

"Scare me?!" She glared at him. "I'm not afraid of...of..." she lifted his hand in hers to prove a point, "...I'm not afraid of some...boy. See?" She wound her fingers through his. "I can hold hands if I want to."

"So you want to hold my hand?" Peeta was a little nervous about facing her fury head on, but he had to admit, her fiery temper was one of the reasons he found her so fascinating.

"NO!" She threw his hand down to the side. "I don't want anything from you. Nothing!" Her arms crossed her chest.

"Felt like you wanted to hold my hand," Peeta stepped closer to her.

"Well...I didn't." Katniss eyes kept traveling down towards them.

"Maybe you're just afraid of the way it makes you feel?" Peeta wasn't sure if he should challenge her until he saw a flicker of recognition flash in her eyes. It suddenly dawned on him, that Katniss Everdeen, the girl that stared down the Capitol's laws and braved the woods on a daily basis, was afraid of him. Him. Peeta Mellark, the baker's son. "Maybe," he took another step towards her, "you actually like the way your hand feels in mine, and it scares you?"

Katniss' back was up against the tree. "Told you already, I'm not afraid of a boy."

Peeta nodded his head, "Yeah, that's what you said, but I don't believe you."

"I already held your hand once," she lifted her gray eyes but avoided his blue ones.

"Did you like it?" He hoped she did.

The tip of her tongue darted out from between her lips to moisten her dry mouth. "It was nice," she said quietly.

"Nice?" He wasn't sure where his courage to face her was coming from, but he seemed to have it in spades.

"Yes," Katniss faced him with determination in her voice. "Nice! It was nice!"

He reached out and touched the end of her braid with one finger. He always wondered what her hair felt like. "I liked it too," he ducked his head down a little. "I liked it a lot, Katniss, and I wouldn't mind doing it again." He held his hand out to her with the palm facing up in invitation.

"Stop it," she was having trouble holding his gaze. "I don't want..."

"I know. You don't want this, but I do. I've wanted it my whole life."

"That...that right there," Katniss pointed at him. "That's what I'm talking about. You act like you're in love with me and we barely know each other."

Peeta had no clue how to explain that he was in love with her, and knew more than she could possibly imagine. "Haven't you ever had a gut feeling about something before? Like you knew it was supposed to be?"

"You want too much from me." Katniss closed her eyes and shook her head. "If I agree to this..." she opened her eyes, "...do you know how hard that would be for me considering I pretty much wrote this type of thing off when I was eleven?"

"But think of how great it could be if you opened yourself up to it...gave it...us a chance." The need to reach out and touch her was overwhelming. Instead he pushed his open palm towards her, asking...begging for her to take the next step.

Katniss dropped her arms and let them hang limply to her sides. "What if my mom finds out? What if yours finds out?"

"We won't tell anyone." He could see her slowly giving into her emotions.

"Peeta..." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she slowly shook her head from side to side. "I can't have this type of relationship."

"Hold my hand, Katniss." If he could just get her to feel what he felt, even for a second.

"You don't get it," she kept looking at the palm of his hand, "this whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing isn't me. I can't afford to...to..." she took a deep breath and let it out.

"Hold my hand," Peeta tenderly insisted. "One minute. That's all I ask. Hold it for one minute and if you want to let it go, then I'll never bring this up again."

"I...I can't." She swallowed.

He had watched her his whole life and knew the one thing she'd respond to was a challenge. "Why not?"

"Because..." she tried to answer, but her voice barely came out.

Peeta took one more step towards her. Their feet were toe to toe. His hand still out, waiting for hers to complete their link. "Because why?" It was time to present his case and see how she reacted. "It's only sixty seconds Katniss. Besides...you were the one that said you weren't afraid of a boy. That's all I am. A boy who would like to hold a girl's hand."

Finally her eyes locked onto his and didn't budge. "Okay," she breathed out, "but you have to count to sixty. Not one second more."

"I will." The instant her hand met his a bolt of electricity shot through him and counting to sixty seemed like a chore. "One, two, three, four..." His breath felt like it was trapped inside of his lungs.

"Five, six..." her shoulders did a little shake when he brushed his thumb against the inside of her wrist. "Um...ten...Peeta?"

"Yeah," he whispered. "Thirteen..."

"Fifteen." she stopped counting for a moment as her eyes delved into his. "I forgot what I was going to say."

"Seventeen." He brushed a piece of hair away from her mouth and became entranced by the fullness of her lips, the tiny little pants coming out from between them, and her nose...he had never gotten the chance to look at her so closely, and he wasn't going to pass it up. "You have freckles."

"Twenty-five... Yeah. A few."

He tilted his head to the side, and memorized each one's shape...color. "I think I knew already, but I've never seen them this close up before."

"You have the longest eyelashes I've ever seen." The words seemed to spill out of her mouth without her knowing.

The thumping inside of his chest was so loud, he was afraid Katniss would hear it and run for the woods. "My eyelashes?"

Katniss nodded her head. "They're really long and curly."

"The end of your nose tilts up a little," Peeta began telling her all the things he was discovering about her. "Your skin is like a perfect shade of ivory...flawless."

"Freckles," Katniss gulped. "Those are flaws."

"To you maybe, but to me they just add color to your perfect canvas." His eyes scanned her features taking them in one by one until they landed on two pools of silver mist. "Your eyes are...wow. I used to imagine them looking at me like this, but it was always a dream. Never thought I'd actually have Katniss Everdeen looking back at me this way."

"How...how am I looking at you?"

He didn't know how to explain it without scaring her again then he realized neither one of them were counting anymore. "You're looking at me like time is standing still."

"Oh," she licked her lips again. "I don't want a boyfriend," she lifted his hand to her cheek and rubbed it against her skin.

"I know, but I think you've got one." Peeta watched her as her mouth began to open and close, but nothing came out. "Say something."

"I'm not good at saying something," her brow furrowed.

If she would only scream...yell...anything, but continue to stand there frozen in place. It was petrifying Peeta. "Then do something."

Katniss rubbed her free fingers nervously under her nose, licked her lips one last time, swallowed the giant lump in her throat and said, "I'm good at doing something." She found his other hand and held it, squeezed it in her own.

Peeta grinned at her. "Really?" He asked her eagerly knowing what her simple gesture suggested. "You mean it, Katniss?"

"I mean it." She pulled both of their hands together between them and rested her cheek on them. "I really don't want to be someone's girlfriend."

"You're not someone's girlfriend." Peeta opened up his hand and tenderly caressed her cheek. "You're mine."

Katniss covered his hand with hers and looked into his eyes. "I'm not getting married."

"I won't propose unless you ask me to first," he gave her a playful grin.

"Since that will never happen...I can live with that," she grinned back. In all the years he had known her he had never seen her smile as much as she did that day. "Peeta, will you have lunch with me tomorrow?"

"No," his face took on a serious expression as he shook his head. "But I'll have lunch with you every day until we graduate, and after that...well you'll be begging me to propose to you by then so..." he shrugged his shoulder and smiled.

"Funny. Very funny." She smiled back at him. "It's Thursday," she sighed.

"Yeah," Peeta tilted his head to the other side to get a new angle, brushed his thumb across her bottom lip, and fought the desire to kiss her. "The week is almost over."

Her hand pressed his against her cheek as she said into his eyes, "Weekends are going to suck."

"But we'll have Monday through Friday and...we...uh..." Peeta rested his forehead against hers and said, "Yeah. Weekends are going to suck." The sound of the school bell rang in the distance. "Time for class."

"Go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

The sounds and scents of autumn filled the air. Crackling of dried leaves, pine drifting off of Katniss' skin, the few birds that had yet to migrate chirping in the air. To Peeta, this was as perfect as life had ever been. "I don't want to go to class," he never wanted to let go of her hand.

"You've never been late to class, and I'm not going to be a bad influence on you." She rubbed her cheek against his palm, gave his hand one last squeeze then released it. "We'll meet here tomorrow. I'll ask Madge to sacrifice her sanity and eat lunch with Delly again."

"Hey, Delly's great." Peeta took a step back from her so he could head back to the school building before the tardy bell rang. "She's always smiling. How can you not like that?"

"Go to class, Peeta."

"I'm going." He took a few more steps away from her. "I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you."

Katniss clapped her hands over her cheeks. "Get out of here before we're both late."

"Are you blushing Miss. Everdeen?" Peeta called to her from a few yards away.

"GO!"

He made Katniss Everdeen blush. A miraculous feat. "Red is very becoming on you."

"Get out of here!" She dropped her hands. "Now or I'll dump you. It'll be the shortest relationship in history!"

Peeta's brows shot up when he heard what she said, "We're in a relationship, Katniss. You and me!" He chuckled. "Holy cow!"

"Don't make me regret it." She lifted up her hand and waved at him.

Katniss Everdeen had just agreed to be his girlfriend. As far as Peeta was concerned, he could die a happy man now. "I'll see you tomorrow." He ripped his gaze away from her and jogged to class. His plan on staring at her during Beast's test began to form in the back of his mind.

"That was the happiest moment of my life," Peeta ran his hand down one of the bars that imprisoned him and let out a soft sigh. "After that, it just got better and better."

"Until you were both reaped," Johanna brought Peeta back to reality.

"Yeah." Peeta said with sorrow in his voice, "Until we were both reaped."

"Peeta?" Annie's voice came from the darkness. "Do you remember the way you felt about her?"

He gave it some thought and said, "Yeah. I do." It was strange considering the way his mind had been working lately. "I'm not sure why, but she always seems so close to me at night. Like she's right here by my side. I'm not even upset with her right now."

"Then we'll have to fix that, won't we Mr. Mellark?" The sound of President Snow's voice filtered through some speakers in his cell. "Bring him to me!" Snow's voice barked and a handful of Peacekeepers entered the prison stomping their boots towards Peeta's cell.

…..

The trunks that were brought to Katniss and Peeta's quarters were opened, items spilling out of them onto the ground, and a combination of hostility and anguish filled her heart. She paced around her room trying to figure out what to do with everything Peeta had packed away for her. Did she use the items? Did she put them away until he got back? Simply seeing things from home left her heartbroken. 'This is ridiculous,' she thought to herself. 'It's stuff. Stuff!' Yet it bothered her to no end having it around. A reminder of what she had lost. "Why did you do this?" She began to have a conversation with her missing husband, then thought better of it remembering Regina's advice. "Fine!" She yelled out. "Where's that damn book?" She began looking around her quarters until she saw it lying closed on her table. Katniss picked it up along with a pen and sat down to write. 'So what do you write?' She asked herself. 'Are you really going to yell at Peeta in print?' She began scribbling down useless things. "Prim is good. Your dad is fine. Mom is..." Katniss had to think, "...honestly I don't know how my mom is. I think she's keeping things from me." Katniss stood up and let out a loud, "Ugh!" She wanted to tell him how she felt without him around, but she didn't know how. Once again she took the pen in hand and pretended she was writing him a letter.

"Dear Peeta, Life in Thirteen sucks." She placed the end of the pen in her mouth and tried to think of something else to write. "Prim's going to be a doctor." She knew she should expand on that, but the words wouldn't come to her so she moved on. "My prep team's here. They've been treated pretty badly." Again she was at a loss. How did she describe the wounds her prep team suffered? In the back of her mind she could imagine Peeta telling her to tell him a story. "I can't figure out what to say or how to say it," she wrote. "I know you'd want me to tell you a story, but I don't know how to do it when I'm writing. We've been through so much together and now I can't even face a piece of paper and a pen without wanting to cry. It's like when Prim told me earlier that I needed to tell people who I am and I told her it didn't matter because you weren't here." Katniss stopped writing to Peeta and flipped the page, jotted a few things down, scratched them out, and started writing again. Before she knew it her fingers began flying across the page expressing the things she really wanted to say in a way she never knew she could. When all was said and done she read over what she wrote, stuck the pen between the pages and slammed the book closed. She'd have to find a place to hide it where no one could see what had poured out of her. She looked at her trunks and shoved the book between a blanket, packed the items back into the trunks and told herself she'd have to find a hiding spot for all of their belongings. None of it was meant for their sleeping quarters. Katniss gave herself a new project, one that would keep her mind occupied. It was time to search out a place she and Peeta could call home while living in Thirteen.

The hallways usually had guards patrolling up and down them, and now that Katniss' entire family had moved to one of the upper levels of Thirteen they had to designate one specific guard for their floor. She waited, peeking out a crack in her door, until the woman left to go somewhere, and made her escape. The stairwells led to the housing Thirteen provided, but Katniss didn't want to stay in that section. She needed to get away from all of these people. She rushed down empty corridors until she found a different flight of stairs marked, Do Not Enter. 'Yeah. Right. That's going to keep me out,' she thought to herself as she pushed the door open. Each floor had two doors to exit, one led to the long corridor that took you to the residential area and the other to another hallway, only these were dark and desolate. "It's deserted," Katniss whispered to herself when she opened one of the doors and saw nothing but an abandoned room. Each one was just as empty as the last. Just as deserted and dark. She wondered why no one lived in this section of Thirteen. There was nothing wrong with the quarters she visited. They all had beds, tables, chairs, a few had cribs. She stopped next to one and placed her hand against the mattress, picked up a handmade doll that was sitting in the corner of the crib and tried to figure out where the people that had lived there went. Had they moved to the section of Thirteen she was currently in? Did they leave Thirteen all together? There was clothing in a drawer that looked normal. Not like the matching uniforms everyone wore now. A picture that a child had drawn was pinned on the wall next to a box with square blocks inside of it. The colors faded with age. 'Toys?' She asked herself. She wandered in and out of the rooms, all of them had been lived in at one point or another, yet abandoned. She traveled downstairs to another level and found a dozen more rooms like the ones on the upper floors then decided to head back to her own quarters to think about what she had discovered. On her way back she stopped at one final doorway. This one was marked President's Quarters. 'Coin lives here?' The thought was quickly pushed aside when she noticed a mouse scurrying across the floor of the hall. There was no way Coin would ever room with vermin. Katniss placed her hand upon the cold doorknob and slowly twisted. Inside she found three adjoining rooms plus a bath. Again she could tell that someone had once lived there, but who she had no clue. The closets in one of the bedrooms were bare. The bed was stripped of its bedding leaving only a mattress and its foundation. The dresser drawers held some clothing, a man's pants...a woman's blouse... The other bedroom, Katniss deduced, belonged to a girl. The clothes that hung in the closet were feminine, yet a sense of youth was woven into them. A perfectly tied bow, added after the fact from what Katniss could tell by the stitching and the colors that didn't quite match, hung limp from the collar of a thin sweater. The main room was the size of her entire sleeping quarters. There was an inch or more of dust layered on top of a basic wooden desk. Upon examination Katniss could tell that someone had built it by hand out of pine wood. A tiny area was set up with a sink, faucet and table top stove burners that resembled the one she had in Victor's Village. Katniss turned a knob and the element took on a bright orange glow, heat shot up from it. "You could cook here," she spoke quietly as she shut the burner off. "What happened here?" she hadn't a clue, but she was determined to find out. She walked up and down the halls counting how many vacant homes were there. "Seventy-two not including the President's Quarters," which she decided would be perfect for what she had in mind. It took awhile to get back to her floor without being noticed by security, but once there she lay in bed thinking about the hidden secrets of District Thirteen, and what the best way to discover its past would be.

…..

"How many did you say there were?" Prim asked quietly as she gave Katniss her morning snack before breakfast.

"Seventy-two...well, three if you include the President's area." Katniss spooned some mashed rutabaga into her mouth. "This is disgusting."

"Then you won't care about puking it up," Prim began searching through Katniss' drawers until she found what she was looking for. "Okay," she took the piece of paper and pencil then started working out some math problems. "All of them looked like they were family residences?"

"Yeah," Katniss answered with a mouth full of rutabaga. "Grotesque. This is...mmm...so...mmm... I can't stop eating it. Is there more downstairs?"

"I think so," Prim answered. "Figure the average family here has two parents and four kids."

"There aren't that many families though." Katniss sipped at some of the tea Prim brought to her.

"I'm not thinking about now...I'm thinking about years ago." Prim bit the corner of her bottom lip. "Back when that pox hit them. I'm not sure how many kids they had on average back then."

"The rooms only held about three or four people," Katniss scraped up the last bits of vegetables from her bowl. "You think the people that used to live there had that pox?"

"Don't know, but the families out here are encouraged to have as many children as possible." Prim put the pencil down. "Now, if they're so concerned about waste, why would they want these people to keep having kids? Wouldn't that use more resources?"

Katniss took a seat next to Prim. "Because they want to go on...survive. You can't do that if you're not reproducing."

"Let's figure four people to a family," Prim tapped the pencil's eraser to her lips and did some multiplication. "That's two hundred and ninety two people. Where'd they go?"

"And why are their quarters blocked off?" Katniss asked.

"I think it's time I start digging through some medical records...find out what really happened to these people, and why we're not supposed to let on about that pox thing," Prim said through squinted eyes.

"You think there's more to it?" Katniss tilted her head down. "Oh God."

"You okay?" Prim got up and wrapped her arm around her sister.

"Yeah...no..." Katniss ran to the bathroom.

"I'm going to wait out here," Prim called to her after the door was slammed in her face. "Hmmm..." she scratched at her temple. "Think I should talk to Dr. Valero about this?" She asked through the door and made a face when she heard the effects the vegetables had on Katniss. Though most things like this never bugged Prim, hearing her sister do it was kind of disgusting. "Katniss, I'm coming in." It was so much easier for Prim to see what was wrong instead of imagining it.

"No...oh..." Katniss' baby was wreaking havoc on her system, and Prim couldn't take it anymore.

"For goodness sake, I'm going to be a doctor," she opened the bathroom door and sat on the edge of the tub behind her sister's slumped over body. "I take it the baby doesn't like rutabaga." Prim grinned a little at the thought of Katniss still being pregnant and said, "Note to self: Don't bring rutabaga to Katniss anymore."

"This baby doesn't like anything," Katniss let out a breath, stood up, rinsed out her mouth before brushing and splashed water on her face. "Peeta's right. It's going to be a girl and it's going to be just like me. Never pleased by a damn thing."

Prim let out a little giggle. "I'll see about pleasing you today. I'm going to mention the pox to Dr. Valero and see if we can get some answers. From what's inside the medical records, most people were left sterile, but what if it actually killed people? And where did it come from? They live underground. How did it develop here?" Prim took a peek at her sister who looked much better. "Do you have a feeling like we're not being told everything?"

"Oh, I know we're not. These people have more secrets than President Snow." Katniss wiped her hands on a towel. "Let's go. This bathroom stinks and I'm starving."

"Dr. Valero wanted me to tell you she and Justus hacked the computer's systems, and you won't have to worry when you shove your arm in before each meal. Your weight will never change, but your nutritional needs might...well, they will, but no one will need to know. She's still not sure what to do about that DNA scanner. Apparently Beetee is in charge of their security down there and they can't hack into it."

"That's okay. Don't think I'll be making very many visits to Beetee." Katniss held the door to her quarters open.

"Justus said they have those scanners in all of their top secret areas," Prim rolled her eyes. "Whatever that means. You'd think we were living amongst a bunch of spies or something. They're so paranoid."

"No, Prim," Katniss said to her. "They're scared. These people shouldn't be here, yet they are, and if Snow finds out, he'll probably try and level the facility."

"Isn't that why it's underground? In case the Capitol attacks?"

"So you think Snow already knows about Thirteen?" Katniss asked.

"You think he doesn't know?" Prim ate as quickly as possible, said farewell to Katniss and took off for her morning duties in Dr. Valero's medical bay. The morning was quiet, so Prim explained what Katniss found and her thoughts on the pox. "Anyway, I was thinking, maybe we should take a look at some of those records...see if it was just a sterilization thing or if there were any deaths involved."

"Prim, if they had some form of illness here that killed off that many families, they're not going to leave it out for anyone to see. Especially a doctor from the Capitol," Regina said to her. "We're going to have to look in the records of the deceased."

"Where do they keep those?" Prim wondered aloud. "No ones died since we've been here."

"One person has," Dr. Valero arched her brow. "Or so they think."

"Katniss' baby," Prim whispered.

"Uh huh," Dr. Valero nodded. "I had to create a file for it. An actual paper file. I was told to create one up for the computer's system, and then..." she looked around and lowered her voice down even more, "...then I was told to write one up and put it in the records of the deceased, but they wanted the truth, not the falsified information about the miscarriage." Prim had no clue what the doctor was talking about, and decided that silence was the way to get the most out of her. "President Coin told me they'd need Katniss' real medical records in case something happened during the war, so I had to write one up about the abortion I supposedly performed, and add..."

"Abortion?" Prim panicked. "Katniss wanted an abortion?"

Dr. Valero's entire face drained of blood. "When you told me you knew about the baby, I assumed... Katniss didn't tell you?" Regina closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No. You needed to tell me. Katniss said it would be dangerous if I knew," Prim was starting to catch up. "It wasn't my sister that wanted one at all was it?"

"Prim, you should forget about all of this. You're too young to be doing any of these things." The doctor walked to a desk drawer and took out tray filled with specimens. "We should get to work."

"Dr. Valero," Prim placed her hand on the woman's arm. "If President Coin wanted my sister's baby dead...the things she said during that mandatory meeting yesterday... What if she wants Katniss dead too?"

Dr. Valero's eyes closed, her head dropped back, her hand to her stomach. "She needs Katniss."

"Only until Peeta shows up, and then what?" Prim paused before adding, "An unfortunate accident during some battle?"

"Katniss would never agree to go out into the war zone," Dr. Valero turned towards Prim. "Would she?"

"Katniss will do whatever she needs to if she thinks it will bring Peeta back and keep their baby alive," Prim answered. "Even if that means going into the field of battle."

"But how can..." Regina lowered down her voice, "...how can that protect her baby?"

"You didn't see that uniform Cinna created for her. She'd probably feel safer walking around a war zone in that than here in those gray uniforms." The need to find Katniss became overwhelming. "Where is she today? Did she tell you anything?"

Regina shook her head. "No, but Justus said they were called in for a special meeting right after breakfast by Haymitch. He wanted to discuss Katniss' propos, but that was at least two or three hours ago."

Both women exchanged concerned looks then left the medical bay in a rush. "What should we say? Maybe stop by the kitchen and bring her a snack? Lunch is coming up?" Prim worried.

"I'll say I need to run some tests on her because of that scanner yesterday," Regina's pregnant waddle was having a hard time keeping up with Prim's youthful strides.

"Finnick?" Prim called down the hall to him. "He really shouldn't be walking around in his hospital gown," she whispered to Regina.

"They keep calling him in for meetings, and he just takes off without thinking," Dr. Valero caught up with the man. "How are you feeling?" She checked his pulse.

"Good. I think I'm ready to be released from the hospital now." Finnick answered as Prim's eyes scanned the hall. "You looking for someone?" He asked her.

"My...my sister. We need to run some tests on her." Prim answered.

"She's gone. Left for District Eight about ten minutes ago." Finnick continued speaking without taking a beat. "Listen, I think it's time I'm released from here Doc. Katniss still has problems and you released her. I think..."

Prim sucked in a breath, clapped her hand over her mouth and tried to keep her tears from falling.

"Why..." Regina stayed composed. "Why did they send her to Eight?"

"She's going to film a propos. Anyway I'd be happy to come visit you each day, I'm sure you'd like that too. Who wouldn't want a visit from Finnick Odair? Just let me out of this hospital."

"Of course I'd be willing to do that once I run a few more tests on you. Why don't you go back to your room and we'll be in shortly." Dr. Valero stood silently in the hall. Dread consuming her entire system.

"They sent her to Eight," Prim leaned against a wall. "She didn't even say goodbye." She sniffed as the tears started to fall from her eyes. "She didn't even say goodbye." And just like that Primrose Everdeen was twelve again consumed by the same feelings of dread as when her name was drawn from a reaping ball.