Slipping out her cell phone, Katniss made the hardest phone call of her life. There was a brief flicker of connection. "This is Peeta." She swallowed roughly, tears streaming and choked out, "Peeta, its Katniss. I need you to come now. Yes, right now. No, it's not all right. I'll explain when you get here…."
Something in her voice caused the little hairs on the back of his neck to rise up. He had heard many things in Katniss' voice in the short time he had known her, but this was new. There was an edge of panic, a tinge of repressed sadness, and an impending sense of loss. Peeta was aware of the strange looks that he was getting from Cinna and Darius. He lowered his voice and inquired urgently, "Katniss, what's going on? Are you hurt?"
"Please, Peeta. I can't go into all that right now. I need you to call Annie, the girl I work with, and tell her to meet us at my house. Tell her it's important. Then meet me at the back entrance of the Better Way dorms. Please hurry."
Peeta hurriedly made his excuses to Sae and the rest and bolted for his car. He quickly dialed the number for Annie and impatiently waited until she answered. He introduced himself, explained what he needed, and once she agreed to meet them, he floored the gas. He made the turn into the back lot, narrowly missing the yellow safety railing. His headlights briefly illuminated the back doors and he caught a fleeting glimpse of a huddled form in the breezeway. He parked as close to the building as possible and took the stairs two at a time. She met him at the door, eyes obviously swollen from crying. He reached to take her in his arms, but then stopped as he noticed the dark stains covering her hands and coat.
"Katniss, what is this?" he edged closer, hesitantly fingering the nearest spot on her sleeve. Raising his hand, he panicked when he realized the sticky fluid coating his hand was blood. "What the hell! Are you hurt? Whose is this?"
She shook her head violently. "No, Peeta. It's not mine. I'm not hurt. I'm okay." Regardless of the blood staining her hands, he pulled her close and softly touched his lips to her forehead. He could feel her trembling against him and rubbed his hands down her back soothingly. She leaned into him, drawing comfort from his warmth and steadiness. "Did you call Annie?" She sighed at his curt nod. "I need to tell you something. It's very important that you hear me out before you say anything. Prim called me. She sounded terrified. She begged me to come here tonight. I asked her if she wanted me to bring you since you were there when I took the call. She said no. That's why I came over here so fast." She glanced up, catching the dawning panic in his eyes and hurriedly assured him, "She's okay, too. Scared, but okay. Peeta, I need you to trust me. I don't have time to go into everything right now, but we have to move." She grabbed his hand and led him through the labyrinth of corridors. He noticed that her eyes flicked back and forth, consciously checking each crossing and doorway as they wound deeper into the depths of the building. She stopped at a recessed doorway and then paused, looking up at him with beseeching eyes. "I'm not going to lie to you. This is bad. There is a reason that I called you and sent for Annie. I can't explain right now, but please trust me. Please." He nodded jerkily and followed her through the door. The sight before him stopped him in his tracks, shock freezing his limbs, his mind unable to process the spectacle being played out.
His baby sister sat beside a smaller, dark-haired girl. Prim was stroking her hair, whispering too softly for him to catch a word. There was red everywhere. Blood encased them both. Prim's hands were grimy with the clotted mess, her clothes plastered in spots. The smaller girl looked like she had been bathed in it. She lay in a congealing pool, the remains of her shirt showing streaks of white underlying the red-brown stains.
Peeta swung to face Katniss, eyes alight with fury. "What the hell happened here? Did somebody stab her? Is she dead? Why is Prim down here seeing this?" Each statement was flung at her like a bullet. Katniss recoiled from the anger in his face, desperately trying to get a word in around the barrage of questions he continued to fire at her. Surprisingly, it was Prim who came to her rescue.
"She's not stabbed but they cut her up. Carved her like a fucking turkey," Prim barked, her tone far from her usual soft chatter. "Stop yelling at her, Peeta. She didn't know." Her eyes fell back to the battered form of her friend and her voice broke. "Rue made me promise not to tell. She was afraid that they would hurt us if they were found out." She smiled bitterly. "They hurt her anyway. I just stood there and let them do it. I didn't even try to help her." Her eyes, Peeta noticed, contained a hardness that hadn't been there before. "All of this for a stupid initiation. It was like learning a secret handshake or a password for a club at school. That's how they treated it. Then they did this to her. I didn't know who else to call. Your phone went to voicemail and nobody answered the house line. She's the only one I could find. You should thank her, not yell at her. Katniss came to help me because I asked her to."
Peeta's gaze softened as he took in his little sister and his… well, he didn't know what she was. It was too soon to put a label on it. Both were looking at him with similar expressions and despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't stop the flood of warmth and affection welling up. They were like sisters, ready to defend the other against any foe. That included him, it seemed. A small smile touched his mouth, and then his brain went to work on how to fix this lousy mess. "I assume that we're not taking her to the hospital. They will have to file a report and then the shit will hit the fan. So, undercover it is." Prim and Katniss gave him identical looks of awe and relief. He took off his jacket as his mind furiously plotted and discarded various scenarios. "Okay. I'll take her with me. She can be put in the back seat so she will be comfortable. Prim, you go with Katniss. You're not safe here and I want you to be looked at anyway. Once we confirm that she doesn't have any life threatening injuries, we will come up with a more permanent plan." Two affirming nods met this announcement.
He carefully picked up the tiny figure, wrapping her securely within the confines of his jacket. The ease with which he climbed to his feet while bearing her weight made him curse. Receiving two questioning glances, he muttered, "She doesn't even weigh ninety pounds. Did you say there were three of them? Those were some damned fair odds all right. Three against one little girl. The bastards should be shot." They ghosted through the corridors, Peeta bringing up the rear with his burden while the other two inspected each cross corridor before continuing on. Katniss hurried to his car and had the rear door open by the time he made it to the foot of the steps. He carefully laid Rue down, making sure not to press on her stomach nor dislodge the covering jacket. She had to be kept warm otherwise shock would set in. Once she was safely ensconced inside, Peeta secured the door and pulled his sister into a bone crushing hug. His eyes met Katniss' over Prim's head and he reached out one hand, clasping hers tightly even as he pulled Prim closer. Prim shifted, her head coming around to meet Katniss' gaze. She grabbed the other hand, pulling Katniss into the embrace so that she stood wedged in between brother and sister. It was surreal how they fit together, Prim's head tucked into Katniss' shoulder while her own rested comfortably against Peeta's chest. One more squeeze and then they separated; Peeta going around to the driver's side, the other two walking swiftly to the Jeep parked just a few spaces over. Katniss glanced back, her eyes seeking his for one instant, and she blew him another kiss. They shared a small smile before he pulled away.
Prim curled up in the passenger seat, shivering in the cool night air. Katniss, seeing this, pulled an extra sweatshirt out of the back seat and ordered, "Put this on before you catch your death." Shaking her head at the bossy tone, Prim did as instructed and sighed as the warm folds engulfed her chilled skin. "We'll get you a shower and something to eat as soon as we get home. After that, I want you to go to bed. I already have the spare room made up. No arguments, Prim. Okay?"
"Yes, Mom," Prim retorted half sarcastically. Katniss shifted her gaze from the road to the blond girl in alarm but laughed softly when she realized Prim was only joking. The rest of the short drive was made in silence.
Peeta had parked close to the building and was shifting impatiently when they finally pulled into the lot. The three soon became four as Annie Cresta met them at the door, medical bag in hand. Her expression morphed into shock and despair as she glimpsed Rue's face. She looked wildly at Katniss, silently demanding an explanation. Katniss shook her head briefly and Annie scowled, clearly not happy with being forced to wait.
Once inside the apartment, Katniss rapidly directed Peeta to put Rue in the spare bedroom. Annie quickly followed; her bag was already open and she removed various items as she knelt beside the bed to examine the girl. The other three adjourned to the living room to give her some privacy. Katniss went to her closet, extracted an extra t-shirt and pair of shorts, and then sent Prim to take a much needed shower. As the door closed softly behind her, Katniss felt warm arms encircle her waist and leaned back into his chest.
"You're good with her," he muttered, his lips softly touching her temple. "She obviously trusts you."
Katniss shrugged, pulling his arms just a little tighter. Closing her eyes, she let herself relax into his soothing presence. "I just understand her. It's hard to be fifteen, or twenty-five for that matter. She's a sweet kid. Kind of like the sister I never had." She twisted around to catch his gaze. "If something had happened to her, I would never forgive myself."
"I know," he murmured. "But nothing did happen. She was very lucky. And I'm grateful that you were there for her. She had to have been terrified." Katniss nodded against him. "You probably were too, but you helped her anyway. Thank you, Katniss, for everything."
The sound of the water shutting off signaled Prim's return, so they separated and were seated on each side of the small dining table when she entered the living area. She took one of the free chairs, thankfully accepting a glass of water, and downed it in one long pull. "So what's the plan?" she probed. "Am I going home tonight? If so, I want to be back here first thing tomorrow. She will be scared if she wakes up and I'm not there."
Peeta exchanged a look with Katniss and caught her imperceptible nod. "You stay here for now, Prim. It's the best place for both of you right now. Why don't you go get some sleep?"
Katniss interjected, "You can use my room, the last door on the left. There's a new toothbrush in the cabinet if you need it and extra pillows in the closet." Prim nodded her thanks and bent to kiss her brother's cheek. She looked hesitantly at Katniss, who silently held out her arms. Prim went to her willingly, the two women embracing tightly. "Thank you," Prim whispered. Katniss smoothed the corn silk hair and muttered back, "Anytime, honey." She released her slowly and gave her a teasing nudge, "Now go get some sleep."
Prim grinned at her tone, "You sure are bossy, you know."
Katniss rolled her eyes, "I know, but what else are big sisters good for if not to boss around little runts like you." Her eyes popped, realizing what she had just said. She flushed uncomfortably.
Prim exchanged an amused look with Peeta. "Good night then. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Her footsteps soon faded and a door closed softly behind them.
Peeta took in her awkward expression and sought to distract her. "I gave this some thought on the way over here. I think that I've figured out what we can do for the time being." She gestured for him to continue. "Tomorrow, I'm going to go before Judge Paylor. I will tell her that I've been advised by her counselor that the group part of the Better Way program isn't beneficial for Prim. You will have to back me up. We'll tell her that we have decided on solitary treatment for the remainder of the ninety day period. You will still be her counselor and confidant since you have a rapport with her. Finnick and Annie will act as her therapists, using the same protocol that Better Way does in the group settings. She will stay here if you're willing to have her. Our place is too far out and Sae can't stay with her all the time. She will mostly be here, as long as Rue is, anyway."
He drew in a deep breath, his expression serious. "We will have to make sure that there is someone always here with them. I figure between us, Finnick, Annie, Gale and Johanna that it would be fairly easy to cover. Do you think they would be willing to work that out?" She nodded. "I will have a talk with Darius about who his friends are in the Crimes Against Persons unit. I will need all the information you have on the three from the group for him. I'll also see if they can shake loose a few units to up patrols by here nightly. I'd feel better knowing that you were protected."
"That story covers Prim, but how can I explain Rue's absence? She doesn't have anywhere to go for me to work with her on an individual basis."
Peeta bit his lip, mind working furiously. His eyes suddenly lit up, "She was a street kid, right? We'll just put the word out that she ran away and is suspected of going back into her old life. That should throw off most of the suspicion." Katniss nodded briefly. It just might work.
Annie crept into the room, rubbing her eyes and speared Katniss with an implacable look. "That girl needs to be in the hospital. She has three cracked ribs, a concussion, severe bruising and numerous contusions. That doesn't even count the hatchet job done on her abdomen. I stitched her up as best as I could, packed the rest with antibiotic and liquid bandage. I covered it and bound her ribs as tightly as I could get them. Katniss, what in the world happened? She looks like a refugee."
Peeta quickly explained the problem and the plan he had come up with for now. Katniss filled in what details she could. By the end, Annie wore the same shocked expression that Peeta had demonstrated earlier, tempered by the knowledge that this had gone beneath the staff's notice at Better Way. The thought made her physically ill. She agreed at once treat Prim on an individual level and continuing to assess and treat Rue as needed. When told that Finnick would be joining them if he agreed, she flicked an amused gesture at a crumpled post-it tucked into the side pocket of her bag. "Tell him if he doesn't agree, I'll never forgive him. That should make him think twice before refusing." Peeta, unsure of the significance of the post-it but completely aware of the desk project that Gale and Finnick had executed, chuckled and agreed that it should definitely motivate Finnick to join them. Annie bid the pair good night and left, saying that she would stop by before work the next morning to change Rue's bandages and check on her concussion. She made them promise to wake the girl every two hours and then departed, leaving two very amused individuals behind her.
Their eyes locked again, silently appraising each other. Peeta finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was scared and I just reacted. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to her."
Katniss reached up fleetingly to touch his cheek but stayed her hand. "I don't blame you. I was scared, too. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to her. She's my friend, Peeta, almost like a sister. I would never let that happen. Never."
He smiled softly and grasped her hand between his two. His fingers toyed with the small ring she wore on her pinky. "You called her your sister earlier, you know." She nodded swiftly, her eyes huge in her face. "I liked that. A lot."
She leaned into him, her forehead touching his chin. He feathered a light kiss on her brow, and pulled her into his lap. "I should go. It's late and you need your rest." Squeezing her close for a brief moment, he uncurled his arms from around her and made to stand. She had other ideas and refused to budge from her seat. "Dare I assume you want me to stay?" he remarked, wrapping her back into a loose hug.
She nodded, gray eyes intent on his face. "It feels safe when you're here, like nothing can hurt us. I don't want to be alone, Peeta. Will you stay with me?"
He cuddled her closer to him, encircling her completely in his warmth. She closed her eyes and eased deeper into his embrace. "Will you stay?" she muttered again. She felt a brief puff of air as his lips gently brushed her cheek and temple. Before the world went black, she dimly heard, "Always."
End Part 11