A/N: Okay, the chapter title is lame. I hope you enjoy this take on Hazelle's side of the story after Peeta's rescue!

Hazelle was trying to adjust to the danger her son Gale was facing. She was proud of him, for fighting for a new and better world, but hated feeling so powerless over what might happen to him. They had all been thrown into the strange new world of district 13 after their rescue from the woods around 12, leaving her in almost constant worry over her son's involvement in the war. She knew why he did it though. She knew that he cared as much as she did for her childrens' futures.

She had been so worried when he almost didn't make it down to the bunkers when district 13 was bombed. Gale was pulled from her before they had even left the bunker when the all-clear was given, and she hadn't seen him since. He hadn't even been to their new compartment yet. Yesterday Haymitch had found her in the dining hall and told her Gale was on a rescue mission. Apparently the rescue team, including Gale, had left suddenly leaving no time for him to say goodbye. Not knowing what might be happening to her son, Hazelle had been up half the night, worried for his safety.

In the morning, she pulled herself together enough to wake the kids, and help Posy get cleaned and dressed. It's when the machine in the wall prints their daily schedules onto their arms that Hazelle's day took a sharp turn for the worse. It was when she saw her day's schedule printed on her arm that her anxiety and anger took over. There in purple ink, was a frustratingly opaque suggestion of trouble. Immediately after breakfast, her schedule read "Hospital - Visiting Hours."

She froze in place, horrified, eyes locked on the barely dry ink. Hazelle could not believe that a district could operate in such an inhumane way. There was no one other than the children, who were safely with her in their family compartment, and Gale, who was sent out on another dangerous mission, that she would be visiting in the hospital. Clearly something had happened to Gale, but the purple ink on her arm gave no suggestion of what had happened or how serious his condition was.

Hazelle knew there was no way she would be able to wait until after breakfast to find out. After a brief glance over her children, she made a quick decision. Somehow quelling the fear that rose up inside her, she asked Vick to help Posy get her shoes on, and took Rory into his bedroom so the younger kids won't overhear them. Rory had been helping out more and more lately, and she knew she could rely on him.

"Rory," she said quietly, "I need you to help Vick and Posy this morning. Can you take them to breakfast and then to school?"

Surprised, Rory quickly agreed, "Uh, yeah Ma. Is everything okay?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. Carefully she told him, "I think Gale is in the hospital and I need to go find out if he's okay." At Rory's obvious concern, she added, "I think since you all have your regular schedules today, he's probably fine. If there's anything wrong I'll come and get you all as soon as I can. He's probably fine, sweetie. Can I count on you to take care of Posy? You'll need to walk her to her classroom at the school."

Rory nodded seriously and Hazelle kissed his forehead before returning to where Vick and Posy were waiting by the door. She told Vick and Posy that she had an important errand and they were to listen to Rory and go with him to breakfast and school. Trusting in Rory to handle his younger siblings, Hazelle rushed to the hospital.

At first the man at the reception desk stubbornly refused to admit Hazelle, given that she wasn't scheduled for visiting hours for another hour. Infuriated, Hazelle nearly broke down. All her fear and frustration poured out of her as she berated the man, insisting she see her son at once. The receptionist, who was merely trying to do his job, was taken aback and looked quickly around for escape. Luckily, a nearby nurse came to his aid and quickly signed Hazelle in as a visitor.

Hazelle hurried to the room the nurse had directed her to. Most of the hospital was quiet, the melee of the rescue team long since over. Seeing her son stretched out in front of her, she cried, "GALE!"

Her cry brought him to full alertness. When his eyes sprang open in surprise, she gasped, "Oh thank heaven!" She saw the bandage wrapped around his torso, evidence of another round of injuries, and felt at a loss. "Are you ... Oh No. What happened? Gale WHAT were you thinking?"

Embarrassed by her outcry he answered her, "Ma! Ssh. It's okay. You're going to wake half the hospital."

Reaching for her son, she argued, "Okay? Okay? It is not Okay! The Capitol, Gale? Do you know how dangerous that was? You can't just -"

Gale cut her off, "Dangerous? Ma we're in a war. It's dangerous anywhere."

Flustered, Hazelle cried, "Gale! You can't just run off without -"

"Without what Ma?" he countered. "Look I'm sorry I didn't tell you. There was no time. I'll be okay. It's just my shoulder."

She held him tightly to her, tears slipping from her tightly shut eyes as she reassured herself he was here. After a shaky breath, she released him.

Gale met her gaze and said simply, "He saved 13. We had to rescue him." He. Peeta. Hazelle wondered how much it was that sense of quid pro quo justice, and how much it was Katniss, that committed Gale to the rescue mission, but she didn't want to push him on such a touchy subject.

"Do you know I had to learn from Haymitch? Haymitch!" she told him ruefully.

He chuckled, imagining Haymitch facing the wrath of his distraught mother, then winced at the pain that shot through his chest. "I am sorry, Ma," he said earnestly.

"I know," she answered, concern still showing on her face. "I just worry for you, Gale. I hate this war. I know things were never easy back home, but at least we were together. Now the kids and I are safe and well-fed but you're in constant danger. I just don't want anything - anything MORE - to happen to you."

"Ma, you know what this war means. I have to do this. If I could I would kill every one of them."

Tears sprang to Hazelle's eyes again. She knew their enemies deserved anything the rebellion brought them, but no matter how terrible the enemy was, hearing such cold words from her son wasn't easy. With a sad sigh, Hazelle nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes, telling him, "Your father would be so proud." She pulled the chair over to the side of the bed. Squeezing his hand in hers, she said, "Alright, tell me what happened."

Gale recounted what he could remember of the rescue mission, from Katniss' collapse to the mission team's arrival back in district 13. He didn't hold back; they had always been honest with each other, and he was sure she'd know if he sugarcoated what had happened.

Hazelle wanted to bridge the chasm that had grown between them, as Gale's life was more and more consumed by Katniss and the war as Hazelle struggled to keep her family together and integrate into district 13 life. When he had finished his account of the rescue mission, she watched him for a moment before gently asking, "Are you okay?"

Gale sighed. After a few minutes, he admitted what still weighed heavily on his mind. "I screwed up Ma. With Katniss, she thinks she can't trust me." After a pause, he explained, "There was another interview with Peeta, before the bombing, before the last trip to 12. He was trying to turn Katniss against the rebels. They thought Katniss didn't know and .. I didn't tell her. I thought it would be better ... or they did. She said - she said I was lying to her for Coin."

Hazelle didn't answer. She believed Katniss felt something for Gale, but that her televised relationship with Peeta had some truth to it too. She was glad Gale still felt he could talk with her. Despite Katniss' obvious reliance on Gale since the war began she worried that Gale was going to get his heart broken. If Katniss wasn't here with Gale, did that mean she was with Peeta? HAzelle wondered how much longer it would be before Katniss chose one or the other boy, given that they would now all be in district 13 and no longer under Snow's thumb.

Gale finally asked, "How are the kids? Is Posy giving you much trouble?"

Hazelle smiled. Posy usually wanted her big brother Gale to tuck her in and tell her a bedtime story every night. The little girl hadn't adjusted to his absences well. "Actually," Hazelle answered, "Rory put her to bed last night. I was ... a little distracted. I saw Haymitch as we were leaving dinner, and he said there was nothing for me to do but go home and wait."

"Rory huh?" Gale smiled.

"He's been helping out a lot lately. Actually, I left him in charge of getting Vick and Posy to breakfast and school this morning too. He wants to be just like you you know."

Gale was grateful that Rory was too young to join the military. He wanted his family safe and didn't want his little brother put in the kind of danger he faced. Rory was still a kid. As he listened to his mother talk about each of his siblings, he regretted how little he'd seen them recently. Remembering their "I Spy" game in the bunker, he made a note to ask Beetee about taking his family to visit the Hummingbird room, once he was released from the hospital.

Too soon a nurse came in to check on Gale and Hazelle knew she had to go. She stood from her chair and kissed Gale's forehead. "Get some rest, Gale."

"Thanks Ma," Gale said.

On her way down the hallway, Hazelle ran into a very tired-looking Primrose Everdeen in her medical assistant's uniform. "Hi, Primrose. How are you?"