"That's really irresponsible," snaps Gale as he comes to stand beside Katniss.

"Excuse me?" She turns to look at him. Angrily she continues, "what gives you the right to say that to me?"

"Look!" He gestures through the one way glass. "He could hurt her."

Katniss fuming, crosses her arms and turns to face Gale. "That may not be the same Peeta that I married because the Capitol messed him up good. But if you think for even one second that he would do anything to hurt that little girl - my little girl, his little girl - then you've got another thing coming."

"Oh, so you're willing to put your baby in the arms of someone who tried to kill you," his arms fly up into the air, "that's just wrong on so many levels, Katniss!"

"Just like your secondary explosion bombs?" She cuts.

"Those two things are not alike," he says defensively.

"Oh, right," she nods, facing the glass again. "One wouldn't hurt it's surroundings, and the other could take out city blocks. You are absolutely right Gale, I'm so sorry I haven't been more trusting with your death trap."

"Where is all this hostility coming from?" He asks, perplexed.

"You insulted Peeta, that's where it came from," she jabs a finger hard at his sternum. "I know you don't think well of Peeta. I know you've never been his biggest fan. But do you see that?" She throws her arms and hands open at the glass. "He is holding her. He's not doing anything that could even remotely hurt her."

"Only takes a couple seconds to drop her."

Katniss' face contorts in horror and distress as she marches around Gale and through the door into the room where Peeta is. Tears are falling down her cheeks as she enters, and Peeta stops to stare at her. He looks confused, but compensates by gently placing Lily back in the bassinet that she'd been in before.

"Katniss?" He takes several steps back and sits on the bed at the wall opposite her.

"Peeta." She comes to an abrupt stop, inches from Lily, a couple feet from Peeta.

"Something wrong?" He curls back into a ball on the bed, back against the wall.

"What?" She asks before noticing how he's situated himself. "Oh!" She frantically waves her hands in front of her. "You're fine. I promise. You didn't do anything." After a moment she notices the bags under his eyes. "Are you not sleeping?" He shakes his head. "Nightmares?" He nods. She takes one step toward him when Lily begins to cry. Stopping to face the infant she pulls Lily into her arms. Rocking the baby back and forth she faces Peeta, who has recoiled against the wall even more and is rocking himself back and forth in the opposite motion of her. "I still get nightmares. I'm seeing you tortured. Now that I know what Snow did...it's all I dream about." She strokes the baby's cheek.

"Mine are so confusing!" He exclaims as he throws his hands up to cover his ears.

"Peeta..." she coos.

"I can't tell whether I should hate you or love you!" He shouts. "Sometimes it kills me, and other times I just want to kill you. It's not fair Katniss." He takes a slow measured breath before continuing. "I think I remember saying something about how my nightmares are about losing you, but then I think I said that I'm-"

"Okay once I realize you're here," she asserts. "You did. It was the first night in a long time that I actually slept."

"No nightmares?" He sounds surprised. Almost as if it were an impossibility.

"No nightmares."

There's a pause, and Peeta relaxes slightly, "So that memory is real?"

"Yeah, Peeta," she says with a smile. "That memory is real." She lifts the baby up to her lips and places a delicate kiss on her forehead. As she lowers the baby again she notices Peeta curls into a tighter ball. "Are you alright Peeta?"

He shakes his head profusely before answering through clenched teeth, "Sometimes I'm fine, and I remember things...but then other times, it's like I'm not really here, like I'm sleepwalking, and then in that stupor I just want to see you dead…" he hits his palms against the sides of his head, "It's so hard, Katniss. Somewhere I know inside you'd never kill me, but then it's moments like when you picked up our daughter, that I felt the urge to attack you for picking up my daughter. I'm not in control, Katniss."

"Peeta," she steps forward so that they're only separated by a few inches. "I'm not scared of you."

"Maybe you should be."

"What?" She hesitates, stopping mid-motion.

"It's not safe with me." His head hangs low and his eyes fervent.

"You're doing so much better though!" She says encouragingly. "They say you're really improving."

"That might be true, Katniss...but there are still times that all I want to do is cause you pain." He starts to hit his head against the wall. "It's not safe for you here. I'm going to hurt you. I'm not safe. Please," he urges as she closes the space between them and sits beside him on the bed, "I don't want to hurt you, Katniss."

"Peeta," Katniss says steadying the baby in one arm as she reaches out to brush the hair from his forehead, "I trust you."

"But I don't trust me," he says as he scoots away from her. "I don't have the self control." He pauses as if perplexed, not sure if he should say it or not; but after much deliberation he continues, "I have some memories I can't make sense of. I don't think the Capitol touched them. A lot of nights on the train, for instance."

"What about the nights on the train?" She asks cautiously, not that there was anything to worry about, nothing had even happened until they were married. "What about them doesn't make sense?"

"It seems like…" he stops momentarily, "sometimes...the only time I felt safe was with you. But I also remember being angry with you when you suggested the whole, getting married thing, I mean I know I forgave you...and clearly it worked out fine," he nods his head at Lily, "but I also remember a lot of anger. I was so angry." He pounds his fist into the bed frame. "You know, they showed me the videos of Gale kissing you, and then you kissing me in the Quell...they told me that the former was the real one, that you didn't actually mean to kiss me. That the...love...you had for me was all a part of the game, part of you appeasing him. But then I look at her, and think that some of that can't be right, I mean...we have a daughter. A daughter. Someone who is a bit of you, and a bit of me…" a tear slides down his face and Katniss reaches over to brush it away and he catches her hand. He stares at it for a long time before finally looking up at her, "I don't want to hate you. And I know I obviously never did, but all I can feel right now is that hatred. I'm sorry, Katniss. I'm so, so, so sorry." He drops her hand and looks away from her to stare at the wall.

"Peeta," she squeaks. "I've been providing for my mother, Prim, and I for so long...so long that I don't require help from anyone. You saved us with that bread, that night in the rain, and we lived to fight another day." She reaches forward and gently grabs his chin and pulls his face toward her. "When I said 'I need you'...that wasn't a joke. It wasn't for the cameras, or the sponsors, or for anyone or anything but myself. I still need you Peeta...I understand that you can't see the truth in that right now, but it doesn't make it any less true." With a quick glance at the baby in her arms she drops her hand to rock her. "I hope that at some point you can see that. Can understand that it's always been you...even when I wouldn't admit it to myself, but you can't see it now and I get that. I'd never force you to see or feel anything. This all has to be you, I can't choose any of this for you. You have to want it." Katniss gets to her feet and before she turns to leave she leans forward close to Peeta's face, and lays the gentlest kiss on his forehead. As she pulls away she can see tears in his eyes. "And I'll be here waiting until you do." Then she steps back and walks toward the door when his voice stops her.

"I want to feel it," he says as she turns to look at him. "Snow is going to pay for what he's done."

"Way ahead of you, darling." She notices the pet name and immediately turns and heads for the door which opens at her approach. Gale is standing on the other side of the door, with a look of agitation and disdain. "What now?" She makes an exasperated sigh.

"He could have killed you!" He shouts.

"He won't hurt Lily," Katniss grumbles. "So I held onto her, because if he could stop himself from hurting her without me there, he could certainly stop himself from hurting me with her there."

There's a sudden frantic pounding on the other side of the door. Gale steps protectively around Katniss as he punches in a code and it opens. Peeta is panting on the other side when Gale steps in the room and forces the door shut in front of Katniss. Her heart begins pounding as she rushes over to the observation room. She makes it there just in time to see Peeta land a solid punch across Gale's jaw. After rubbing his jaw, Gale hurls a punch back at him, but instead of making any contact Peeta catches his arms and throws Gale to the floor and quickly immobilizes him with a wrestling move.

"I wasn't on the wrestling team for nothing!" Shouts Peeta in fury. "I could take down guys twice the size of you! Why are you so hell-bent on ruining my life? Just because I can't remember everything that involved Katniss, or our daughter doesn't mean you can just step in and take my place! I have a lot of memories that Snow messed up, but one thing stayed the same and constant through it all - WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!" Peeta is screaming at Gale.

Haymitch runs into the observation room and Katniss quickly places the still sleeping newborn into his arms and runs to the door. Haymitch shouts the combination at her and she's very quickly in the room and pulling Peeta off of Gale and pushing him back to the bed where they had been sitting just moments before. Peeta initially tries to get around her, but she won't let him.

"Why are you defending him?" He yells at Katniss as Gale gets to his feet.

"I understand you're angry!" She gently pats his chest. "I get it Peeta, I really do. But you can't just attack people when they make you mad!" He tries to get around her again but she continues to stonewall him. But then Gale speaks and she's angry too.

"Gotta have Katniss here to save you? Not that special are you?" He laughs maniacally.

"What?" Katniss spins around to face him. "What did you just say?"

"You can't fight his battles for him, Katniss," he says with a smile. "He's got to be a big boy and fight his own."

Katniss can feel Peeta's tense body directly behind her and can hear him panting. She extends her arms out protectively when Peeta tries to step around her but she stops him, yet again, as Gale continues his taunting.

"You're so weak Peeta, she tried to save your life in the first Games and cost you your leg." He laughs. "And then you had to have a bunch of tributes die for you in the Quarter Quell. What are you good for anyway if she's always going to be there to save you?"

"What are you saying, Gale?" Snaps Katniss, folding her arms in front of her.

"I'm saying, what is he good for?" He folds his arms over his chest and looks down to her.

Despite the fact that she is both shorter and smaller than Peeta, and Peeta could pick her up and move her without issue, he remains behind her. "You keep talking like that, and I might just let him beat you black and blue."

"Let?" Gale says haughtily. "You have to let him."

"Gale," says Katniss, cracking her knuckles and taking deliberate steps towards him. "This man," she jabs a finger back to where Peeta is and discovers that he had followed closely behind her. "The father of my child, who saved me one night in the rain, when my family was starving. Long before we even met, he'd already started saving my life. That didn't change as the years went by. He's come to my defense. He protected your ungrateful behind at the whipping post, and he certainly had no reason to actually do that, other than I was already out there defending you. So don't you stand there all high and mighty and think that just because you're an active member of this rebellion, that he isn't capable of doing what he's always done. He's never failed at protecting me, Gale. I've failed him. I let us get separated in the Quarter Quell, and that will always be on me, but he's never failed me. Even now, this is all Snow, it's not Peeta. I hate Snow for what he did, I know that my Peeta, the one I married, may never come back...but this one is here and he cares about our daughter and really that's the only thing that truly matters to me!"

"Katniss…" Peeta mumbles behind her. "It's not all your fault. I could have stopped them too, but I didn't. I could have just run from Brutus until I got back to you and then had you shoot him with an arrow, but he threatened you and I had to act, and it's because I did that...it's because of that decision that I wasn't able to make it to you before you blew out the arena. I remember you were screaming for me...but I didn't get there in time. I failed you too."

"Peeta…" Katniss makes a frightening realization. "You don't remember that I was in the cell adjacent to yours?" She turns to face him when she notices that his eyes have been glossed over. "Peeta?"

"It's happening, Katniss," he shuts his eyes and presses his hands to his temples. "You should get out of here. I don't want to hurt you."

"Peeta-" she starts again, but he shakes his head intently and she agrees without hesitation. "Okay. I'm going." She turns back around to face Gale and gestures to the door. "Out. We are leaving right now. And don't you dare, ever, let me find you in here again. Peeta is more than equipped to take you out, and if I'm not there next time to save you, we might not have anything to argue about anyways." The door slides open and the two walk out just as they hear Peeta punch the wall. Katniss grabs his elbow and yanks him around to face her. "If he has an episode right now, because of anything you've just said, I will never forgive you for that."

"Katniss-" he starts but she silences him with a gesture.

Walking around him she goes back to the observation room and grabs her now crying baby from Haymitch. "She must be hungry." Haymitch nods and then agrees that is something he doesn't need to see and she should go to her room. She argues that it's natural, and he simply states how he has nothing wrong with breastfeeding, he just doesn't want to see hers. With a laugh she heads back to her room, now shared with Johanna.

"If she keeps me up tonight, there's going to be hell to pay," she opens her eyes and glares at Katniss.

"She's a baby...what exactly are you expecting?" Katniss shrugs before sitting on the bed.

"Well, not peace and quiet, obviously," pausing, she shoots Katniss a look of degradation. "No, actually I would love some peace and quiet - but you and Peeta had to go on and have a baby. I've been getting no sleep the past week."

"Would you rather we moved?" Katniss asks slightly astonished.

"No," Johanna shakes her head and lays back, "I'd just like peace and quiet." After several minutes of silence, Johanna speaks to Katniss again. "How was Peeta? I know this can't be easy for you. I could hardly take all his screaming when we were in the Capitol...I can't even imagine what it must have been like for you at the time."

"He's alright," Katniss says with a shrug as she stands up and places the now sleeping infant into her bassinet.

"Gale sure likes to stir up trouble, doesn't he," Johanna says mockingly.

"Yeah."

"Are you okay, Katniss?" Johanna shifts onto her side and looks at Katniss as she pulls the covers back and slips into bed. "I know I surely wouldn't be if I were in your position. I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you. Especially to see Peeta that way." She pauses but Katniss doesn't speak. "I completely understand if you don't want to talk about it, but...if you do, you can always talk to me."

"Thanks Johanna." Katniss smiles at her as Johanna leans forward and turns the light out. "Goodnight Johanna."

"Goodnight Katniss."

Johanna and Katniss are woken up multiple times by Lily as she cries and cries. Johanna resulted to sleeping underneath her pillow, just so she could try to block out the sound, but time after time Katniss woke up, cared for her baby, and went back to sleep. One time, however, she woke after hearing Lily cry and then it being very quickly stifled, she sat straight up in the bed and could see the silhouette of someone currently holding her child.

Reaching to the side of her bed she picks up the lamp and whispers, "Put my baby down and no one gets hurt!" The figure startles and then turns. "Peeta?" She asks in shock. "How did you get out here? Who let you out? What's going on? Am I dreaming?" She starts to look around the room to try and ascertain what was going on. "Um...you're actually here, real or not real?"

"Real," he says smiling over at her as he rocks back and forth with the baby.

"Not afraid you're going to kill me anymore?" She asks, sounding just a bit more serious than she had intended.

He shakes his head and then faces the other way again. "I'm sick of the nightmares, Katniss. I can't shake them, and they won't go away, I haven't been able to think of anything else...until you brought Lily in earlier. Lily changed everything. She's calming. She helps me. So I'm going to help you." He stands and holds his daughter close. "I'll sleep over in that chair, and I'll take care of her tonight, so you can get some sleep."

"Peeta-"

"I'm alright, Katniss," he nods. "Go back to sleep."

Tired as she is, she has no trouble falling back asleep at all. It was a relief to have Peeta there and she did indeed get more sleep. Upon waking, however, she found an arm draped over her center and a warm breath on her neck. Initially worried it was Gale she jerked away, but as she did the figure beside her opened his eyes, apologetically. "Peeta?"

"I'm sorry, Katniss," he pulls back. "It got cold and I just…"

"No," she shakes her head. "It's fine. And I'm still here, alive. It's completely fine." She lays back down on her side and just as Peeta is ready to get up and walk away she catches his hand. "Stay with me?" He gives her hand a gentle squeeze, crawls back into the bed beside her and she pulls his arm back over her the way it was before, except this time she grabs ahold of his hands and pulls them up to her chest.

"Always," he whispers in her ear. "That's the first time I've slept, without having a nightmare. I can't sleep alone anymore, Katniss. I just can't do it. The dreams are too real, I can't do it anymore."

"Okay," she pulls him closer still. "Anything. Anything you need."

"You," he breathes. "I just need you." After a pause he adds rapidly, "And Lily. I need her too."

There's a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Katniss calls out.

"Gale. Katniss, can we talk?" He pauses when she doesn't answer. "It's urgent. Peeta got out of the hospital and no one can seem to find him anywhere...we just thought you should know since-" he doesn't finish because Peeta is opening the door. "You're here? How are you here? How did you get out? Is Katniss okay?" Gale tries to look around Peeta as the baby cries and Katniss goes to pick her up. Katniss walks around to Peeta who places one of his arms around her. "You're still alive?"

"I'm done with the hospital, Gale. Those days are over."

"Until the doctors say that," Gale tries to grab his arm but Peeta pulls it back. "Peeta! Be reasonable, at the very least. You could be a danger to them both, and you don't want that, do you?"

"Gale," interjects Katniss. "He slept here last night just fine. Now if you wouldn't mind," she gently moves Peeta behind her with her hip, "I'm going to try and get at least another hour of sleep." She closes the door, not waiting for a response. Once the door is shut she turns to Peeta. "You get some sleep, I'll stay up with her."

"Sit on the bed at least?" He asks and she doesn't have the heart to tell him no. Peeta crawls under the covers and Katniss walks over to the other side and pulls them down and crawls under as well. As soon as she's situated herself and the baby, Peeta moves closer to her and rests his head on her lap. "Thank you."

She uses a free hand to stroke his hair, "you're welcome."

With a smile Peeta closes his eyes and falls asleep.