A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates this weekend, I was away at my friend's house down the shore with my boyfriend. This chapter starts Peeta's POV.

For the next three days or so, we make due with what we've got-safety and peace. The train doesn't even stop for fuel, because they have tons and tons of it already on board. I guess they anticipate how much coal they need to get back to Twelve, and hold back that much from the Capitol. We talked sometimes, slept a lot- because I hadn't slept much when his father was home, and he had trouble sleeping without me there, we were both sufficiently exhausted-played games, and kissed often. We got by with rain water, if we were ever lucky enough. On the third day, I was actually able to stand on my own, because Cato had helped me work on it, seeing as we had a lot of time. When we woke up on the fourth day, I took a peek outside the car before Cato woke up. We were definitely in Eleven. I recognized it. We'd be home today. I was sure of it.

"Love?" I go kneel by him. "Wake up." We needed a plan for getting off and getting food. We'd have to head into the woods at night, and if my guess was right, we'd be in Twelve in the next six hours...with plenty of daylight to spare. ~

"No, Mom. Let me sleep." I say to the voice that just woke me up. ~

"I'm not your mother, Cato." I kneel beside him. "Come on, it's Peeta...We're in Eleven, you've got to get up." ~

I open my eyes to see Peeta staring down at me. His hair is beyond sex hair, with it all over the place and knotted and about three different colors all at once. Basically it looks like he hasn't had rest in days, when he really slept a lot more than he used to. "Hey, Peeta." ~

"Hey you." I smile. "Sleep alright?" ~

"Absolutely. Especially with you here...on top of me." I laugh and sit upright, leaning against the wall behind me. "You said we're in District Eleven now?" ~

"Mm-hm." I cross my arms and look out of the crack I'd left in the door. "I remember the place well from my journey to you. Miles and miles and miles of...nothing." I laugh. "So I'm guessing we'll be in Twelve soon. So we need some sort of plan." ~

"What, we'll be there midday, right?" I ask. "Where do they stop these trains? The mines are at the Seam, right?" He told me a lot about District Twelve. So I know the Seam is near or at the end of the District somewhere, and I'm assuming that's where the mines are. "Or do the trains stop somewhere else first?" ~

"They go right into the main area of town first, because having the burning coal in the trains by the mines is a safety hazard. Then, the workers usually transport the coal from the minds to the square. It isn't all too far from the Seam, so it's not a far distance. But the stop'll be in town, for sure. I remember many sleepless nights because the trains would be sitting there for hours." I swallow nervously. "We're basically going to be let off a block away from my house." ~

"Oh..." I consider asking him if we can stop off at his family's bakery for some food, but I think he wants me to be serious for now, so I don't. "Do you think people are going to be looking for us? If so, we really have to hide." ~

"I don't know for sure. We can look out when the train arrives. It depends on what the Capitol did. Everyone knows by this point that they haven't executed me yet...unless they say that they did and say they wanted it private so they didn't start a revolution or anything. We need food and shelter immediately." ~

"Food sounds good right about now..." Sometimes I couldn't even move because I was so hungry. The lack of food reminded me of my eating patterns after the Games, when I refused to eat. "I don't know how to sneak out. If anything, I'd be able to hide somewhere, but getting out unseen is the problem." ~

"I know the area well enough that I should be able to get us out." I pause. "And I know where we could hide, but...I wanted to run it by you, first." ~

"Shoot." I tell him, wondering where our possible future hideout is. ~

"Well... Before the torture, the Capitol brought me into this room, and my father and brothers were there. I got to say goodbye before everything. And my father had told me to thank you for everything you've done for me..and if you ever needed anything, you had someone looking out for you in District Twelve." ~

I take a deep breath before asking, "Peeta, what are you saying?" ~

"I'm saying that he doesn't hate you, first of all." I laugh a little. "But really, I'm saying that we could get food and stay there, at least until tonight...then we can go out into the woods and find whatever we're looking for." ~

"You don't think someone will check there?" It could be safe for a day, maybe two. As long as we leave soon, as he suggests, then maybe it could work. "What about your mom?" ~

"She's usually out midday, doing who cares what. So you can knock on the door to the bakery, and be sure that whoever answers won't kill you or want you dead." I joke. ~

"Do people usually frequent the streets around there? I mean, I should be fine, but...you have very distinct features. Not in the same way as before, though." ~

"No, definitely not." I laugh. "I can steal your stolen peacekeeper uniform...though I may be a little short for it." ~

"A little?" I smile, mocking his height. "It's a little small on me, so it wouldn't be too large on you...despite you being a midget." ~

"I am not!" I grumble. "You're outrageously tall. We've discussed this before, Cato." ~

"And I stand by what I said. You're tiny." I laugh and start removing my shirt. "You wanna try it?" ~

"Might as well get your laughter out of the way." I glare, smiling and slipping on the different pieces. "It's not that bad. Just looks like someone in District 8 doesn't know how to do their job." ~

"It just looks like someone gave their little brother hand-me-downs." ~

"Shut up." I laugh, tossing the helmet towards him. "It'll do." ~

"Yes, yes, I know!" I say, catching the helmet. "Hey, where's your jacket? I want it back." ~

"Look down." I'd put it under his head folded as a pillow the night before, since it'd been very bumpy and he kept waking up in the middle of the night. ~

When I look where I'd been sleeping, I find the old, familiar jacket folded up like a cushion. "Aww, thanks!" I lean forward to pick it up. ~

Time goes by, and soon enough, I start to smell the familiar, burnt scent of home. District 12. "We're definitely here." ~

"How long until we stop?" This will be Peeta's first visit home since...well, since he came back to life really. That is, if he can still call this his home. ~

"Not long at all. Fifteen minutes, max. We came from beneath, I can tell from the surroundings. If we came from the west, we'd have a while to go. But we're coming from the south, so we'll be in main town very soon. Get ready." This is going to be hard, but it's what we've got to do. I slide the helmet gently over my head and stand at the edge of the car, looking out. "Now remember, I'm escorting you, if anyone asks." ~

"Peeta, turn around for a second?" ~

"Hm?" I turn and look at him. ~

"You look scary." I laugh, making fun of what he said about me the night I broke him out. ~

"How I adore your personal brand of sarcasm." I laugh. "Get up, come on. Put on the jacket, we're getting off as soon as this thing slows down." ~

Shaking my head, I slip my arms through the sleeves of the jacket, zip it up almost all the way to the top, and put the hood up. It's probably colder outside than it is in here. "You adore my personal brand of everything, really." ~

"Oh, I do." I lift the helmet once and kiss him as buildings start to pass by outside. "We're going to go along the train. We're near the back, so head in that direction. We'll go behind the shops, and split. All you have to do is look depressed and make a left, and you'll find the bakery. I'll take a more awkward way, seeing as I'm used to the area. People will think you're going to apologize about me. I'll try to figure out what the Capitol said about me on my way. You just go to my dad. Don't say anything on me being alive or dead unless he does. Okay?" ~

"Wait, so you're going to leave me? What if someone finds out about you?" I relay his instructions in my head. Make a left. Find Mellark Bakery. Be sad. "I don't want them to take you away again." ~

I take his head in my hands. "I swear, I won't let that happen." I smile slightly. "Besides, this is District Twelve. The people are less concerned about me and more concerned about what's to eat tonight. And I told you, the Peacekeepers don't care. They shop in the illegal markets. Don't worry." ~

"Alright, I'll try not to." This place definitely would've been safer for us than District Two, yet, we made it for a couple months there anyway. "When will I see you again? I want a timeframe." ~

"I should be at the Bakery no more than ten minutes after you. Five minutes after you at the earliest." I laugh. "If I'm fifteen seconds late, please don't freak out." The train begins to slow down, and I clearly recognize where we are. If I look close enough, I can already see the bakery. ~

As the train slows down, I look out the crack in the door. It's starting to look familiar already and I was only here once. "So, this is it?" ~

"This is it." I take his hand and slide open the door slightly. "We're going to jump here, okay?" ~

"Okay. Good luck." I give him a quick hug. ~

I grip him tightly, and we take a jump off of the slowly moving train, heading away from its destination. "Get up to the main road, and make your left." I remind him. "I'll see you soon, love." I call to him as I run in the opposite direction. ~

As he runs off, I just watch him and laugh at his farewell. And now no more laughing. He told me to be sad, so I start thinking of his absence in my life after the Games. That's really the only thing that could ever get me sad enough because that's when I thought he was gone forever. I look around for a few seconds for the direction I'm going in, find the main street, and walk down it at a normal pace. My excitement makes me want to go faster, because I just want food, but I can't look too happy. Peeta said not to. So, I keep walking, waiting for the left I'm supposed to take. ~

It feels so weird to be back home after all of this time. As soon as I depart from Cato, I begin looking around at the shops on the opposite side of the main street for the familiar stand-there. Newspapers, exactly what I'm looking for. I don't have the money to buy one, but I glance at the headlines as I walk by.

"REBEL PEETA MELLARK EXECUTED PRIVATELY IN CAPITOL"

So that's your game, Capitol. Keeping this a secret? Just helps me. Of course, the papers were probably days old, but they likely kept them out because I was from here. I saw at least two people come and buy them, and saw the picture of me on the front, from all of my publicity shots as tribute. I see Cato at least two blocks ahead of me make the left, so I begin weaving through the shops to waste time. I can't show up with him, but I know what I needed to know now. ~

After I make my left, I look around for the bakery. It's somewhere around here, I know that-not because Peeta told me it's here, but because I saw it once while I was on the Victory Tour. I walk for about two minutes until I see it on my left. I made sure to keep away from most people on the street. I don't think most of them really care anyway, but just in case, I'd rather them not see me. I take in a deep breath before walking to the side of the building and knocking on the door. ~

A middle aged, but still young-looking man with ashy blonde hair and blue eyes answers the door, pulling it open as he speaks in a somewhat sad monotone. "You can come around the front door, we're ope-" He sees the boy who's knocked on the door. "Cato?" He questions, bewildered before quickly ushering the younger blonde into the fragrant building. ~

The second I step into the building, the scent of a million different desserts flooded my nose, making me hungrier than I already was. "Um...hi, Mr. Mellark. I wasn't sure if you recognized me or not." ~

"Of course." He replies, somewhat distantly. There's a silence. "So, I assume my son was able to pass on my message before they..." His voice cracks, and he stops talking, knowing that both of them can finish his sentence. ~

So the Capitol told Panem that he's dead. Good. "Yeah, he did tell me." I look down at my feet. No matter how hard I try to cry, it won't come out. ~

"I suppose...now that I have the chance, I'd like to thank you." He motions for Cato to sit at a small table in the bakery. "Are you hungry?" ~

I nod eagerly. I probably look like such a mooch, but I'm starving. "You're thanking me?" It's my fault Peeta was caught. ~

He nods. "I don't know how much he told you, but my son didn't have the best youth." He never uses Peeta's name. It hurts too much. He stands and walk over to the oven and pulls out a small roll, putting it on a plate and bring it with a pad butter over to Cato at the table. "I saw him smile genuinely more during the Games than I had ever before. And from what he told me, and those phone calls...you made his last months happy...and that's all I ever wanted for that boy. So, thank you." ~

I rip the roll in half and dip the corner of one of the halves into the butter, than take my first bite of food in days. Not only do I have food at last, but I get to finally taste the bread Peeta's always been talking about. It's as good as the cake he made me. "Thank you for him, really." I say, wiping my mouth with a napkin. "He changed everything for me." ~

That makes him happy. He merely smiles and nods at first. "I understand why he ran to you when he woke up here. You're quite the young man, Cato." He sits. ~

"Thank you, sir." I finish off the entire roll rather quickly, and notice that I devoured the whole thing entirely too quickly. I nonchalantly push the plate to the side and wipe my face clean again. "So was Peeta." ~

The man shuts his eyes quickly and takes a deep breath breath on hearing his son's name. "Thank you. Now, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you to District Twelve?" ~

"I couldn't stay there...they would've done bad things to me. After his...death, they'd think this is the place I'd least want to go to." This is probably the place they'd want to check first, unless they think we're too smart to go here. "My dad is a Peacekeeper, too, so...home isn't really safe for me." ~

"We met." He looks out the front window. "He introduced himself, trust me. But you're always welcome here." ~

"Thanks, and sorry about...him. He's just generally hateful towards people." Well, he hates me and Peeta, at least. "I don't know how long I'm staying, but I promise not to be a burden on you or your family." ~

"Really, it's no problem." He stands, glancing to the side door that someone has just knocked, where he can see a white Peacekeeper's helmet through the window. "No, not again... They came when they found you two." He says, looking to Cato and giving a familiar horrified look that was definitely genetically passed to his son. ~

Confused for a second, I look behind me. At the door is Peeta; I can tell by the shortness. "What do you think they want? Hopefully not me..." It's too hard to keep my excitement locked up, but I manage.

He says, "I'm not sure." His face lost all color the minute he looked at the door. Actually, he seems genuinely scared, or worried-he and Peeta are definitely related. No doubts about that. Taking in a deep breath, he stands up and answers the door. ~

The door opens slowly, but I don't know immediately if he recognizes me. I don't think so, even though he's towering over me. "Mr. Mellark?" I smile beneath the mask. ~

Peeta! Peeta! Peeta! I want to scream, but I don't. Can't be attracting attention there.

"...Yes?" He hesitates on the word. Maybe Peeta's voice sounds different from not eating for so long, or has sounded different but I haven't noticed because I've been by his side for the past week. "Come in..." He opens the door wider. ~

I glance over to Cato as I step inside and give him a nod of recognition. "Cato." I turn back to my father, taking in the smell. I missed this place. "I have news on your son, Peeta." ~

I smile and nod back to him. "You." It's hard to hold in my laughter.

Mr. Mellark drops into a chair and looks up at his son. "What could it possibly be?" He gives the signature Mellark shocked face, gaping mouth and all. So that's where Peeta gets it from. ~

"He...misses you, and is really glad to be back home." I pull the helmet off of my head, once again messing up my three-toned hair, smiling widely. "Hi, Dad." ~

A/N: What do ya'll think? I hope ya like! Review! And maybe I'll update some more today! :D