A/N: Here's a really long chapter for you all in penance for me disappearing. :D It starts with Peeta!

"Really?" I can't believe it. "We'll be safe?" ~

"Really." He pats Peeta on the back.

"Peeta, you can finally live your life without the constant fear of dying." But without his home. Without mine. Without his father or my mother. "What you wanted." ~

"I won't believe it until I see it." I laugh. "Can we see it? I think I've had enough surprises for today." ~

"Well, you've come all this way. I'm sure they'll all be thrilled to see you alive." He motions for us to follow him. ~

Well, that's new. People-who weren't Cato or my dad, of course-happy to see me alive. I begin following Haymitch, and for the first time in a long time-ever, maybe, I don't feel worried, and just laxly take Cato's hand in mine. I don't worry if people will see. Or if this is the last time we'll be together. I am his boyfriend, holding his hand. ~

As Peeta and I walk hand-in-hand through the rubble of the destroyed District, all I can think about is him. He was right. District Thirteen is here. We're safe now, as far as I know. I can live. I can live with him. "Hey, Peeta?" ~

"Hm?" I look to him, avoiding a pile of stones that I definitely would've tripped over. "What is it?" ~

"On a scale from one to ten, how happy are you right now?" I smile. ~

"Well," I begin, smirking and knowing exactly what he's doing. "If I said anything over ten, I'd be telling the truth, but I'd also sound so cliche and cheesy." I squeeze his hand. "But I know ten won't do, so I'll have to go with...fourteen. That is, on your one to ten scale." ~

"Only a fourteen?!" I can hear Haymitch laughing in front of us. "No, no...a ten will do." ~

"I have my reasons." I smile, looking up at Haymitch. I haven't actually heard him laugh legitimately when he wasn't drunk and laughing at my or Katniss' pain. "What's so funny, Haymitch?" ~

"Your boyfriend is ridiculous and over the top."

"I am not." I whisper as I look down at my feet. "I'm perfect...ly normal." ~

I groan. "One thing meeting me hasn't helped you with is your ego. You're still a cocky, charming bastard like you were during the Games." ~

"I thought you liked my ego. Without it, I'd be completely different...I thought you liked me the way I am." I fake cry and push him away a little bit. "I was born cocky." ~

"I never said you had to change, I'm just pointing out that you haven't. Not even a little bit." I pull him back over to me. "I'm the one who pouts and cries in this relationship, anyway. Stop." I use his shoulder to kiss him on the cheek as we walk. ~

"You haven't changed, either. Even after the Games, it's still you. A little bit crazier, yes, but it's the same pouty you."

We continue walking for another minute until we reach that old warehouse we passed by before.

"Why did we stop?" I ask.

"Because we're there." Haymitch pulls the large door open and leads us inside. ~

Okay, creepy old abandoned warehouse? Definitely not liking this. But it's my desire for a peaceful life, with Cato, that lets me go in. "Haymitch, please tell me there's a hospital in Thirteen. I'm desperate." I don't know if he watched on tv. He might've not cared enough to not watch, or cared too much to handle. ~

"That's where you'll be going first, of course." He brings us over to another door on the other of the warehouse and pushes a button. "I know you need that more than anything right now." ~

There's another thing going right. Things are looking up. Then I remember something. "Oh, and then I have to call my dad. And Cato wants to call his mom." I look over at him and smile. He never said it, but I know he did. I remember making fun of him in the arena for being a momma's boy, but after meeting his mother, and knowing how kind she was and how hard she worked to protect me...the least we could do was a phone call. ~

"As long as my dad isn't home."

The door slides open to reveal a very clean elevator-much cleaner looking than the room we're in now. The three of us walk in and the doors close, sending us somewhere deep into the ground. Very deep.

"So why is it that the Capitol leaves this place alone?" I ask. Wouldn't they have wanted to completely obliterate this place? It seems like what they're doing with Peeta. Can't destroy them the first time? Try again. Fail? Keep it a secret from the rest of Panem.

"They threatened nuclear war with the Capitol, so they compromised. Thirteen gets no contact with the outside world and plays dead, and the Capitol leaves them alone." ~

"Well...crap." I laugh out of nerves. "They have nukes? Are you sure this is all safe?" ~

"I've been here for about two months, ever since someone said they saw you alive. It's safe."

The elevator finally stops and the door opens. When we step out, I take a good look at the place. There are actually living people here. People who don't want to kill us. People who especially don't want to kill Peeta. "Wow..." Never in my life had I imagined this would be hiding here for seventy-four years. ~

As we walk out of the elevator, most of the people continue on their way. A few acknowledge Haymitch, but no one really notices Cato and I at first. The only looks we get are likely because I'm in half a Peacekeeper uniform. Haymitch begins walking more quickly to get us out of this densely populated section of the District. A pair of automatic doors close behind us made of some pristine steel, and we're in an isolated hallway headed towards another elevator that has lights that represent up, down, left and right, but no buttons. I'm about to ask how we're supposed to use it when Haymitch rolls up his sleeve, and scans...his arm?

"You're lucky I'm supposed to go to the hospital now anyway. Otherwise, you'd have a hell of a time getting there."

The doors open, and we walk into another perfect elevator. "It's so advanced..." I comment. Even more so than the Capitol, it seems to me. I try to get a good look at Haymitch's arm to see what he did, but I can't tell as he rolls his sleeve back down. ~

"This place is insane!" I say excitedly. "I've always wondered what it was like to live outside Two, and this place is underground!" Okay, maybe I'm mostly excited because Peeta's safe now. I turn to Haymitch and ask, "Why do you have to go to the hospital?" ~

"Everyone has a schedule here." Haymitch begins, tapping his foot. "Lately, they've had me down in the hospital just to check around. Thirteen's pretty isolated, as you've seen, so not a lot of people get sick. So I have a fifteen minute watch shift, then I'm supposed to meet with the big guns around here...though you," he looks at me, "need the medical attention, so I'll probably page them down to see you." I nod in response. Everything's so meticulously organized. ~

"What about me?" I point to my face and roll up my sleeves to show my skin abnormalities. "Do I get to go with him?" ~

"Well then." He looks Cato over once. "You're a bit worse than I thought. You should probably get checked out, too, kid. They'll easily be able to fix those marks. We all saw what happened here." He leans against the wall of the compartment. "We've got television and all. But I really don't want to see what you've got under that uniform, Mellark. If he looks that much worse from television, I can't imagine you." I know he doesn't mean it in an insulting way. Cameras probably couldn't do much justice to the pain hell I'd gone through, or what I looked like afterwards.

The doors open to a large, flat room that's sectioned off by curtains. There are a few nurses and doctors around, and somewhere between seven or ten people in beds throughout the area. I jump on hearing Haymitch yell over to one of them. "I need a doctor and some nurses here immediately!" He waves a few of them over. ~

"What is it-oh!" One of the nurses who crowded around us gasps at the sight of us.

"I know, it's bad." I sigh. I don't care what Peeta told me. I caught glimpses of myself in shop windows; it's not that pretty. ~

"Yeah, yeah, I get they're in bad shape, now come on, people, do your jobs!" From the looks of it, I don't think any of them quite realize who we are yet. "He needs some cream or some shit on his arms." Now that's good old Haymitch, I think as he refers to Cato, who gets pulled away by a trio of nurses. "And you've got some work on your hands with this one." He motions to me. The doctor and nurses look confused, because not a lot besides my mouth is visible because of the uniform. "Trust me." I get taken over to a bed one over from Cato, and they lay me down. It's the first bed I've laid on in a week, so that's nice. As the nurses flutter around him, I turn my head and smile and mouth to Cato, 'We made it.' ~

I nod to Peeta. I mouth back, 'I know.'

As they're busy ripping articles of clothing off of me so that they can treat every problem spot, I ask them to be careful with my jacket. One of the nurses places it neatly on the the table next to me and turns back to me, only to stop again. She looks back to my jacket, obviously taking note of the design and the number twelve on it. "Wait..."

I don't say anything. I just shake my head yes to confirm her suspicion. ~

I wince and shut my eyes tightly as the nurses begin cutting the Peacekeeper uniform off of me. I hear the doctor's voice talking to Haymitch. "What're you doing bringing a Peacekeeper here, Abernathy?"

"Relax yourself...He's not a Peacekeeper." I hear someone walk away, and hear Haymitch's voice, a bit more faint. "Coin? Can you get down to the Hospital? I think you'll be interested. It's worth your while." I open my eyes to look around, and the group of nurses is gaping at my exposed flesh.

"Doc?" One of them stammers out. "You're gonna wanna see this." ~

I lift my head up and watch a doctor walk over toward Peeta's bed. "What is it?"

What is it? I want to know, too. I can't see past all the nurses covering my arms, covering my face. Washing cuts off my legs and arms. Keeping me calm when all I can worry about is what's wrong with Peeta. ~

I don't think there's anything more wrong with me than I know, but I probably look worse than anything they've seen. I look down a little bit, and see that I'm just as I remember-mostly red with burns, a series of cuts, and a lot of black charred sections. A pair of them separate to make way for the doctor, who I smile weakly at. ~

The doctor sends the nurses off to get more supplies. "What exactly happened here?" He asks, slightly gaping at the sight of the wounds on Peeta's legs. And for a moment, I can see them too. They're worse than I remember. It's a wonder he was even able to walk-I suppose my helping him on the train really paid off. ~

"Well..." I look over to Haymitch, who gives me a slight nod, telling me to be honest. "I was kind of tortured for an almost straight twelve hours. By the Capitol...on live television." I bite my lip a little, waiting for some sort of reaction. ~

Everyone in earshot stops what they're doing. The doctor walks around the left side of Peeta's bed and brushes some hair out from his eyes. He steps back a little, and asks, "Peeta Mellark?"

And for some reason, everyone's reaction is always calmer than mine was. Well then. ~

"Yeah, I've been getting that question a lot..." I try to smile a bit. "Yeah, that's me." ~

Then, everyone's talking all at once and I can't even tell what they're saying. They're happy, they're confused, suspicious, untrusting, excited-every emotion in the book.

I interrupt them, saying, "Please, just fix him before it's too late!" ~

I turn my head to Cato. A few of them have made the connection between us two by now. "Don't worry...I'll be fine." I look up at the doctor. "Right?" I really don't know what's wrong with me, or if I'll be okay. I hope I will. I know I'll have some lasting damage...but I think I should be okay. Hope. ~

"Right...we should be able to fix this." Everybody is running around all over the place for medical equipment and the like. They all start gossiping with each other, asking if it's true, and so on and so forth.

When one of the nurses asks about it, I say, "I drugged a Peacekeeper, broke him out, and we hopped on a coal train to District Twelve." I shrug, but I start to feel the burning sensation of the cream on my shoulders so I flinch. "It was a bit harder than it sounds. I'm just lucky Peeta cooperated with me, otherwise, it would've been much harder." Then I add, "He was crazy. Is crazy, I don't know." ~

"Was." I note to Cato.

Is.

Goddamnit. I thought I was done with this.

"...Is." I correct, frustrated. "As long as I live, I could care less if I have voices in my head." I sigh, wincing a bit instinctively as a nurse brings over a syringe. "I...what is that?" Ever since the torture with that white misty liquid, I vowed I would ask about everything that was being put into my body. ~

"It's just to help disinfect your wounds," she says. "You have a lot of bacteria buildup and...I hate to say it, but we're going to have to drain some pus from your body." Then, she turns to me. "You too, it seems."

"Great." I don't really want to have something 'drained' from my body, but I know it's better to get the pus out, so I'll leave it to them. "Peeta, you sound like you prefer talking to yourself over talking to me." ~

"Okay... Go ahead." I say. Though, the one upside of being tortured for so long? The needle feels like child's play. "I don't like it. At all. I don't like someone else in my head who won't go away." I complain to Cato as Haymitch walks over.

"The President will be down in five minutes to see you, so you both better be on your best behavior. Got it?" I laugh. Haymitch instructing me on good behavior?

"Of course." ~

"My best behavior is subpar, compared to Peeta." It's true. I make one snappy comment, and the whole thing can fall apart. "But I'll try harder." The marks on my body are already starting to feel better, but I know they'll still be visible for a while. "Peeta, if it makes you feel better, I can pretend to talk to a voice in my head so that you don't feel so alone." ~

I laugh a bit at him. "That's alright, love. I'm the one who's crazy. Just behave." I sigh. "Don't worry. They have a president here?"

"Yeah, they may be called District 13, but they're independent. Of course they'd have a president, kid." ~

"Would the president be mad at us for just...dropping in?" I ask. "I mean, this place was supposed to be a secret." ~

"Not when she sees him." He nods to me. "Any reason she'd have to be upset would be at me, and because I brought you here.. I'm fine."

"So she's involved in the rebellion?"

"You've got it. Thirteen's the rebellion's base." ~

Well, Peeta seems to be popular here. "For how long has this been going on, exactly?" ~

"Years and years.. We've just needed a reason to put it all into action.. Something to get everyone on our side. You two gave it to us." ~

"Us?" I never expected anything like this to happen. This is insane! "And the Capitol didn't suspect a thing? Why don't you just nuke them?" ~

He shrugs. "That's not the point. We're not just trying to destroy the Capitol...just stop the people there from ruling. Take over..and stop the Games." ~

Stopping the Hunger Games...wouldn't that be something? To think, the very thing that brought me to Peeta could be ending soon. There may never be a 75th Hunger Games. "The Games would be over forever? Then what would happen?" ~

"Forever. Then maybe everyone could go on with their lives in peace. Without fear for themselves or their children." He says gruffly. "We won't live in hell anymore."

I can't even imagine a world like that. It sounds too perfect. My mouth is gaping. "Really?"

"If things go as planned, yes." ~

"What's planned?" If it's something involving Peeta risking his life again, I'll object immediately. I don't care if it's for the good of the nation. He's the only thing that matters. ~

"Nothing particular, yet. The President doesn't even know Peeta's alive. It'll be up to her."

I never imagined I could be a part of something so big. ~

"Okay...but he won't get hurt, will he?" ~

"I don't see why he would be." ~

"As long as he's okay..." I say, "If he's good with it, then so am I." ~

"I'll do it." I say calmly, my eyes shifting to the elevator where the bell has rung.

"Best behavior." Haymitch warns Cato. ~

I lie still when the elevator door opens, revealing an older woman, who I'm assuming must be the President. When she walks forward, I look nervously to Peeta. "What's the meaning for this, Abernathy?" ~

He steps forward toward her. "Coin." He gives his traditional Haymitch grin. "I was scheduled to meet you at your office now, but I figured it's better down here." She already scares the hell out of me. She has a look that could kill. I suppose you've got to, though, to stand toe to toe with President Snow, anyway. ~

"Is that so?" She narrows her eyes at Haymitch and often looks over to me and Peeta. He's a mess, and so am I. "Why is that?" ~

"There's someone I'd like for you to meet...See for yourself." He waves her over to our beds. ~

She walks over to the left side of Peeta and gives him a once-over. They stare at each other for a moment while she bites her lip in thought. "It can't be him. Can it?"

I sit up a little bit so that I'm still leaning against the wall behind me. "It is," I say, "trust me." ~

"It is him." Haymitch says to her, crossing his hands.

"Um, I'm right here." For some reason, I can't break eye contact with this woman. "You can ask me, too." Jeez. ~

The President gives Peeta a pointed look. "Peeta Mellark, the one and only?" She holds her hand out to shake his. "You ran into a bit of luck getting here, didn't you?" ~

"That would be the understatement of the year, ma'am." I laugh a little, taking her hand lightly, because mine are pretty horrible. "That's me." ~

"Pleasure." She smiles for once, then turns to me. "And you must be..."

"Cato," I tell her. "Peeta's...yeah." ~

"Boyfriend." I clarify calmly. "He's nervous." I smirk at him jokingly. "I can't even believe this place exists. We thought we were screwed when we were in the Capitol..nowhere to go."

"I ran into them up in the over ground ruins." Haymitch comments. ~

Before she questions, as everyone else does, I say, "I promised I'd get him out even at the cost of my own life. I did, we almost got caught, but we made it, but I know they're looking for us. And...the rebellion. Will they find us here? If they do, it'll ruin everything."

"Did you cover your tracks?"

"There were almost no tracks to cover. Just train tracks." I shrug. "I just...they won't give up." ~

"We took a train the entire way from the Capitol to Twelve." I say. "It was a few days, but we never got off. We were about two blocks from the tracks there, and only in Twelve for an hour or so. The only person who knows we're here, or that we could be, is my father. He was the one who told me this place might exist, and that's how we showed up here. We wouldn't be here without him." I miss him.

"What do you think?" Haymitch turns to Coin. "I don't think there's much of a problem with that...by the time they figure out which train they were on, at least a hundred coal miners will've been on it, leaving dust and prints." ~

"It should be fine, but they can't be allowed out just in case." Will I ever get to see the sun again?

"Um, excuse me, President Coin?" I start. "Before we start anything, can Peeta call home?" I look to him and smile. He misses home already. ~

"Just my dad, really..if I can talk to my brothers, that's a bonus. But not my mom. She'd be the real threat." I laugh in a joking manner. "I just...I told my dad I'd try to call if I made it here." I smile back at Cato. He really is something.

Haymitch looks to Coin for some final word on the matter, since he obviously doesn't have authority on it. I really don't know if I'd want to live in a society where Haymitch had authority. ~

"I'll give it some thought," she says, crossing over to a table with what seems like millions of papers on it. "There isn't really any way to know it'll be safe." ~

"How come?" If she has any questions about my dad or anything, I'm sure I could calm her fears on it. I wouldn't do anything to put this in danger...not after everything the Capitol's done to Cato and I. ~

"What happens if your father doesn't answer the phone?" she asks. ~

"You can have someone else call first, and I'll get on the line when you're sure it's him." ~

"We have a strict policy regarding contact with other Districts," she says. When she sees Peeta put his head down in sorrow, she sighs, takes the telephone off the table, and brings it over to him. "But you aren't officially a citizen of District Thirteen, so we can make an exception for you." ~

I look up quickly at her. "Really?" I imagine my face is something of stupid joy. ~

"Really. Until you're sure, be as vague as possible."

"Hey Peeta," I roll over to face him, "if you get him on the other line, tell him I said hi." ~

"I will." I look down at the phone, my hand shaking a little. I put in the number and look over to Cato with a reassuring smile as it rings and I wait. Wait. Wait. ~

On the other end of the phone, back over in District Twelve, the baker answers on the third ring. "Hello, Mellark Bakery." ~

I cough a little, hoping that it'll mask my voice a little. Even though I'm already sure that it's my dad, I'm sure everyone else won't mind me doing a bit more to make sure. "Hey, I was just wondering if Mr. Mellark was in the bakery today, my mom wanted to pick something up for my little sister's birthday later, and she wants him to do some custom frosting work on it." ~

He sighs, hoping that it had been Peeta that was calling to let him know he was okay. "Yes, this is Mr. Mellark. What kind of custom frosting?" ~

I sigh, looking up to the adults and giving a nod, knowing that it's okay. "...Dad?" ~

His eyes immediately light up at the sound of the word 'dad'. He whispers, "Peeta?" ~

I give a big smile and can't help but to laugh. "Dad!" There's something so comfortable about hearing his voice again. ~

"You boys made it..." He laughs nervously and puts his hand on his chest as a sign of relief. "I was worried about you." ~

"I know, I'm sorry I didn't call faster..." I smile. "There's so much here, Dad. It's...it's amazing." I pause. "I wish you were here." ~

"Maybe one day, I can be." He turns around to make sure no one is listening in on the conversation. "I'm so glad that you're safe." ~

"I...I hope so." I take a deep breath. "I'm sure I'll be safe here." I don't know whether or not to mention the rebellion to my father, but I don't just yet. I don't think I should. Maybe if I can call him again, sometime. After talking everything over with President Coin. ~

"I think you will be, too." He smiles genuinely at the thought of his youngest son finally being happy, healthy, and alive. "Has...he been treating you right?" ~

I let my eyes travel to Cato. "Of course he has." I smile. "A perfect gentleman." ~

"Good. That behavior better continue." He laughs, but the tone of his voice hints that there's some sincerity to what he's saying. "Or, believe me, all hell will break lose." ~

"And you think it hasn't already?" I laugh almost too loudly. After all of my escapades with the Capitol, I think this can definitely qualify. "I hope things go well over there...I really do. With the bakery and mom and my brothers... How is everyone?" I really didn't get a chance to ask earlier, and now I feel badly about it. ~

He sighs and looks out the window of the front door. "They haven't come home yet, so I couldn't relay your message to your brothers." He bites his lip before saying, "Your mother...is the usual." ~

I look over and stare at the wall opposite us. "How...How was she when you guys came back from the Capitol?" I wonder if she completely ignored that anything had happened, or if she watched me on tv, or if she talked about it being a relief that I was gone. Was it sad that I expected the latter from my own mother? I remember having to go into the room to say my goodbyes to my family and not seeing her there. Maybe it was better that way. Because I know she would've either been overly fake or just not said a word...the way it was, I got good conversation with my dad, and really got to make peace with my older brothers. ~

"She had us make up for lost time at the bakery." He couldn't lie, but he really doesn't want to say that his wife couldn't care less. "It hasn't been very different with her. A little surprised, maybe...she laughed when she found out you were alive." He wouldn't disclose whether the laughter was based on the fact that Peeta would get tortured or that Peeta was able to outsmart the Capitol. ~

My father and I are the same person. I can tell when he's not being completely honest with me. "...You don't have to tell me everything, dad. But I get it. Same old same old." I sigh. "I've... Gotten used to it, really." ~

"Listen...I think she's changed ever since your Reaping. Not a big one, but...she's more aware of your condition, now." He pauses. "Do you not want me to tell her, still?" ~

"Yeah, maybe now she's accepted it, but it doesn't mean she's stopped hating me for it." I say, attempting a monotone so I don't get emotional. "I don't want her to know. She may find out soon enough, anyway. So...don't bother." ~

His father sighs and puts his hand up to his head, attempting to think straight. "I understand...and I'm sorry about that. But she's your mother, and you know she can never truly hate you." ~

"I don't really believe that." My voice is rough, because I don't want her to hate me. She is my mother. But I don't know that I could forgive her for everything she's done to me over the past few years. ~

"I won't hold that against you," he says, imitating Peeta's usual statement. "If you're sure, I won't tell her." ~

"Thank you." ~

"Of course...I'm just glad you're safe. Hopefully, we'll see each other soon." ~

"I hope so, too..." I wish we could live a normal life here. I wish it were that easy. ~

He says, "Is that all?" ~

"No," I laugh. "There's a million things I want to say, but..." I look up at Coin, telling my dad this and asking her at once. "I'll call again as soon as I can...?" I say somewhat definitively and partially questioning. ~

President Coin nods, as Mr. Mellark continues to speak through the phone. "I also wish we could talk longer, but I have to get back to work before people get suspicious...but you better call again. And...tell Cato to look out for you. I know you have trouble looking out for yourself sometimes." ~

"Right, right." I sigh. "Get back to the bakery." I laugh. "I'll call again...Cato says Hello. I'll tell him, but he definitely does anyway. Despite my best efforts to stop him. I'll talk to you soon, dad.. I love you." ~

"I will, I'll talk to you soon...love you too." He smiles at finally being able to talk to his son without the constant fear of him dying. ~

"Okay...bye." I smile and hang up the phone. I look over to Cato. "He told me to tell you to look out for me, because apparently I can't." I laugh. I almost want to cry because I'm so happy that everything is going so well. ~

"Well, how many times have you almost gotten yourself killed?" The berry, three months getting to District Two, almost turning himself in, and weird hiding places in my house while I was on the Victory Tour. "A lot." ~

"Most of which weren't my fault, or predictable." I stick my tongue out. "Thank you." I say to President Coin. ~

"Of course." She takes the telephone from Peeta and turns to me. "I'm assuming you would like to call as well?"

"I...don't know if that's the safest thing right now." As much as I'd like to know what's happening back home, who knows what would happen if I call? "I don't know." I turn my head and look at Peeta. ~

"It's up to you, love...Do you think you can?" I know Cato wants to talk to his mother, but I also get he's nervous about his dad being there. ~

"Well...what time is it?"

"18:00," says Coin.

"Okay, so that's about midday there, right?" I take the telephone and begin dialing the number to my old home. If it's the middle of the day there, then my dad should be out. ~

"Worth a shot." I say. "Remember, be ambiguous." ~

I nod to him as the phone rings. Please pick up. Please pick up. When I hear the ringing stop and breathing on the other end, I say, "Hello?" ~

"H...hello?" A soft woman's voice comes from the other end of the line. She stands in the kitchen of her home in District Two, staring at the TV, hoping for some news on her missing son. ~

I cover the speaker and whisper excitedly, "It's her!" I take my hand off the speaker and say, "Yeah...I was just calling to see if, uh...your phone was working correctly. You know, in case you were expecting a call from someone." ~

"Oh..." She says, dejected. Her son had been missing for about a week more, after the death of his boyfriend by the Capitol. She was afraid he'd run off, or hurt himself. If he was dead... She didn't want to think about that. She's been waiting for some call on his status, or news, always fearing the worst. "I'm hoping for a call." She says honestly. ~

"This may be the call you were waiting for. I have information about your son." I smile. ~

"R-really?" Her heart stops. What if this is the call? "Please tell me he's okay." Her voice is shaking now. ~

"He said he misses you and he's sorry about running away." ~

"He..." Suddenly, she knows the voice. "I..Cato?" She whispers. ~

"Hi, Mommy." I laugh. "Yeah, Mom, it's me." ~

"Cato!" She exclaims in a slight whisper, overjoyed. "Thank goodness you're alright." She slows herself to sit. "How are you? Where are you? Are you coming home soon? I'm so sorry about Peeta..." ~

"Mom, I don't think I'm coming home at all." ~

"W..why?" Is all she can manage. ~

"Because of Dad." I say, looking to Peeta. "We can't go back." ~

"...We?" ~

"It's Peeta, Mom. He isn't dead." ~

"W-what?" This is all so sudden for her. She leans her head on her hand on the table. "Is that why..." Everything clicks. "You ran...good. I'm...I'm glad. That boy didn't deserve it." ~

"I broke him out myself. If they find us, they'll kill me and torture him again." My voice starts shaking at the thought of him being tortured again, this time without me. "They're looking for us...even Dad, right? That's what he's doing when he's at work, I bet. Hunting me down to kill me." ~

"...All he said is that he's looking for you again." She whispers. "I don't think he would..." But she knows that he would. Her husband has always put work before family. "Are you somewhere safe?" ~

"Yes, we're both safe...better than safe, actually...please don't tell him I called." ~

"Of course I won't... I'm just glad that you're safe." She looks out the kitchen window to make sure her husband hadn't returned home early. "You'll try and keep in touch, won't you?" ~

"Yeah, I will...don't worry about me. Where we are is a good place." As far as I can tell, it's a very good place. "We only just got here...we've been running for a week nonstop." ~

"And...you're sure you're okay? That where you are...they...he won't find you?" ~

"Even if they do find out where we are, they can't hurt us." It's a part of their treaty. The Capitol has to leave District Thirteen alone. "How have things been? I haven't had a chance to see TVs or newspapers." ~

"Pretty quiet, as far as I know.. They have specials on about you being missing. A lot of people in the Capitol are upset about Peeta's...death." It was true. They didn't understand the concept of him being a traitor. They were all happy he was alive, that the lovers from the Games could be together. ~

"So everyone knows I'm missing?" If anyone in District Twelve cared to pay attention to me, could they possibly report me being seen around the area? "And they care about Peeta's death?" ~

"Yeah, but they assume you went to sulk around for a while because of Peeta. That you'll be back soon enough. And yeah, they do. They're not angry or anything from what I know... Just upset, and the Capitol is milking it for all its worth." ~

I look confusedly at Peeta. "Milking it for all it's worth? What exactly are they doing?" ~

"Specials, shows with you guys, finding people who knew him, trying to get the nation to stop trusting other districts. Showing that everyone has two sides. A side that may be sympathetic, and another that'll defy the Capitol." ~

"So...they're trying to stop, say...a rebellion?" ~

"I suppose so...but I don't know why anyone would be foolish enough to try to rebel, or how they would even get to chance to. Since Peeta made it out of the Games, they're on heightened alert." ~

"Yeah, well, he made it out again. He'll just keep escaping...he never dies." I laugh, making eye contact with Peeta. Five times, Peeta, remember that. "They aren't on high enough alert." ~

"That's a good thing for you, isn't it?" She laughs lightly. "It's gotten a lot worse around here...I'm surprised they haven't been here, yet. They want heightened security in and out of Districts, less freedom for people travelling...you really made them nervous, kid." She takes a deep breath. "You just have to be careful. That boy cares about you. A lot. We spoke a lot while you were gone." She says seriously, before lightening up a bit. "And there's enough cake in my damn fridge to feed a small army for weeks." ~

"I know he does! He won't stop telling me that!" I laugh so much that my side starts to hurt. "That reminds me. What's my welcome back cake look like? I mean, if you guys haven't eaten it yet, that is." ~

"I couldn't!" She laughs. "After being with him for a month and seeing all the work and thought put into it for you, I couldn't eat it! It wasn't meant for me. It's extraordinary, really." She stands and goes over to the fridge where all the shelves have been removed to make room for the still immaculate cake. "He's quite talented." ~

"Well, I don't think I'll be able to eat it now...I'm sure Peeta wouldn't mind you eating it! I mean, I wouldn't want something so good tasting to go to waste." How I wish I could eat that cake now... "He's the most talented person I know." ~

"I'll be sure to take a picture so you can see it somehow." She laughs a bit to herself and closes the door to the fridge. "I'll tell you how it is. He taught me how to bake, you know." ~

"Without the box, right?! Isn't it good? Have you had the batter at all?" ~

"Absolutely, when we were working! All twelve of them." ~

"I'm jealous!" Maybe they'll let Peeta bake while we stay here. Then I can eat all the cake I want. "I can't believe everything I missed!" ~

"Let me go find his drawing...It's somewhere around here." She goes and fumbles through a few drawers before finding a small, folded sheet of paper with a drawing of a cake on it, each section labelled. "There was...Dark Chocolate Cake, Angel Food Cake, Red Velvet Cake, Raspberry Cake, Lemon Cake, Carrot Cake, Black Forest Cake, Ginger Cake, Peanut Butter Cake, Cinnamon-Sugar Cake, Mocha Cake, and...Butter Cake. And the frosting was all cream cheese." She says, proud to have been a part of the insane project. ~

My jaw drops. "How could you resist eating all of that?! And the cream cheese!" Peeta knows how much I love cream cheese. "That's been in the fridge for over a week and you left it untouched!" ~

"I would've felt so guilty!" She sits down again, just happy to be having a semi-normal conversation with her son again. "He was crazy about it." She laughs. "I wish you could see it." ~

"So do I! I just wish I could eat it." If we hadn't gotten into that fight when I got home from the Victory Tour, I could've eaten the damn cake! My fault. "You don't have to feel guilty now, though. You have my permission." ~

"Fine, fine, for you." She smiles. "I think your father's coming home for lunch today. He wanted to talk to me. He hasn't been around a lot." ~

"He wants to talk to you? Do you have any idea about what?" Whenever he says that he wants to talk to someone...it's usually the opposite of good. ~

"The only thing I could think of is that he's going back to the Capitol to do more work for a long time, like when he was away when you were little. This is exactly how it happened, then." She thinks back to when her son was maybe five, and his father going away for almost two years. Of course, there was contact, but it was rare. She didn't find out much about what he'd had to work on that was so important, but she knew it wasn't good. "That's what I'm thinking." ~

"...Oh." Well, shit. If he's gonna be going away for a long time, that could only mean bad things for us. "The timing is very convenient, isn't it?" ~

"I...I suppose so. He's been a lot busier lately, already, though...It could be related, but he could just be doing security work for the Capitol." She tries to calm her son. ~

"No, it's probably because of us...I'm sorry." I'm about a thousand percent sure that if he needs to do more work for the Capitol, it has to do with me and Peeta. "But they won't find us here. Don't worry if that's what it is." ~

"I'll...I'll talk to him about it and try to let you know." She looks out the window and sees the usual black car. "He's going to be in soon, I've got to go." ~

"Shit," I whisper. "Okay, okay, um...we love you, Mom, and I'm just glad I got to let you know I was okay." ~

"I love you too, Cato. Try to call again when you can... Be safe." And the line quickly goes dead. ~

"She's gone." I push the 'end call' button and hand the phone back to President Coin. "I don't know what's really going on out there...she says they keep having specials or something on TV about us, and something about trying to get the Districts to stop trusting one another? And...she thinks my dad is going to be sent out on important Capitol business. We don't know what, though." ~

Haymitch raises his eyebrows. "Well that's interesting. Maybe we've got them scared, Coin."

I reach over to try and grab Cato's hand, but my arms are too short. "They can't do anything to us here, Cato." ~

"I know that, I know." I lean to my left and extend my arm out so that he could reach me. "But I think he wants to kill me now..." After everything, my father's never wanted to kill me. Never. But now, I think I pushed him to the edge.

"Scared or not, it's a threat." She takes the telephone away from me and sets it on the table near the wall. "Which is why there will be no more phone calls." ~

"But what if people outside know things? They could help protect us. If no one's allowed outside, how do we know what the Capitol is planning!"

"Both of you have a point." Haymitch adds in, probably knowing how important this is to me. ~

"But we said we'd call home whenever we could...are you saying we can't ever?"

"We already ran the risk of the phones being bugged. Twice; once for you, and once for you." She points to Peeta and me respectively. "You were vague enough, but I'd rather not risk it again. The whole rebellion could fall apart with one wrong call." ~

"I hate to say it," Haymitch gives a glance to Coin, "but she's right. We've been working on this...since I was in the Games. It's bigger than any of us."

Was Haymitch really being reasonable? Woah. ~

"But we said we'd keep in touch!" I sit up completely, raising my voice. "I'm not gonna blow her off like that!"

By the look on her face, Coin is not amused with my behavior. "We'll discuss this, among other things, tomorrow." She looks over to Haymitch. "Emergency meeting in five." ~

"Oh, wonderful," he drones on sarcastically. He probably feels passionate about this, but he's still lazy Haymitch.

"What's wrong?" I ask stupidly. ~

"You showed up. That's not wrong, that's actually very good and to our advantage. But it means there's a change of plans that should be discussed in private immediately. You two boys will spend the night here in the hospital." ~

"That's honestly a relief..." It's the best place we've slept in a week. And the first time I'll have a peaceful sleep with Cato in over a month. ~

Haymitch and Coin leave the hospital to talk about who-knows-what with the "plans" for the rebellion. So that just leaves a few nurses or doctors in the area, checking on us, checking on other patients that are in other rooms. "Peeta," I say to him. ~

"...Yeah?" I look over at him. ~

"We get to live now?" ~

"...Together." ~

A/N: YAY, HOORAY, WOO-HOO! I have returned and I come bearing chapters! Review! xx