You people are so impatient...and I love it! Thanks again for all the ongoing support. I really appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just working with the idea.

Paul pushes Katniss behind him just as the front door swings open. Paul shoots near the top of the door frame. He didn't want to kill anyone, just wanted to warn whoever was there that he had a gun too. He keeps the gun pointed towards the door. Katniss tries to see past him, but Paul's too big and he keeps a firm grip on her, keeping her safely behind him. She hears a heavy thud, like something hit the floor in front of them. She watches as Paul steps back in slight surprise and slowly lowers his gun towards the ground.

"Are you crazy?!" Katniss hears a voice coming from the front door. A very familiar voice.

"Are you?! I could have killed you!" Paul yells.

"Not likely." The man lets out a low groan. "Now, where is she?!"

"Calm-" Paul tries.

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! You tell me where she is or I'll…" His voice fades from Katniss' hearing. She wasn't listening anymore. This was a nightmare. The FBI was supposed to be protecting her against impossible odds. It was a never ending cycle that she just couldn't go through anymore. And Paul was in on it; he had to be to be so hospitable to their unwelcome guest. He was involved. Katniss was sure of it. So what if her next move was her last? One way or another, this was all over.

Katniss takes a step for Paul's gun. She uses all her body weight to pull the gun free and trip up Paul.

"Hey!" She hears him yell as he falls to the floor but she doesn't care anymore. With him out of the way, she has a clear view of the man after her; of the man who killed Peeta.

In that instant, Katniss' face drops. It's why his voice was so familiar. She feels Paul's hand on the gun in her hand; she doesn't fight it. Her eyes never leave the man lying twenty feet from her. He must have made the thudding sound, when he hit the floor. She watches as he attempts to stand, but he doesn't make it to his feet as Katniss tackles him back to the ground.

"Hey-" Her lips on his cut him off. "Katni-" She doesn't let him get a word out as her lips don't leave his. Katniss' hands are all over the place, feeling on every part of Peeta's body, making sure he was really there. Her hands go up to his face, holding him in place as she peppers kisses all over his face. Peeta grabs her face gently, making her stop.

She looks up at him, running her hand up to his forehead, trying to push the hair out of his face. As she pushes the hair out of the way, she notices a small cut and a larger bruise encompassing it. "You're alive?"

"Katniss, I'm okay."

"But this…" She gently caresses the injury.

"This, is nothing. You should see the other guy." He chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

"But, I heard them. They said you were dead."

He chuckles again. "All I said on the phone was, 'Marvel. Yea, he's dead.' I can't help it if they misunderstood."

"So, you're okay?" He smiles and nods his head. Katniss starts hitting him. Her fists pound into his chest as hard as she can.

"Ow." Peeta catches her hands. "What the he-" Katniss' lips on her his again. She pushes him to the ground so they're fully extended on the floor.

"I think I'm going to go." Paul says but no one hears him.

Katniss' kissing slows and eventually stops. She rests her head on his chest, relishing in the fact that he was breathing; That he was lying right under her; alive. Peeta sighed as he held her tight against him.

"What happens now, Peeta?"

"I talked to Haymitch already. He's sending a plane to pick us up tomorrow night." Peeta gives her one more tight hug before trying to get off the floor. Katniss sits up, allowing him to sit next to her. He stands and pulls her up with him. "Nice shirt."

Katniss blushes. She tucks a stray hair behind her ear. "I missed you. I thought you were gone."

Peeta grabs her hand. "Hey, what did I say? Nothing's going to happen to me." Katniss quickly grabs a hold of him, burying her face in his chest. She couldn't let him see her cry. She hopes his shirt will soak up her tears.

"I thought you were dead, Peeta! I thought the last time I saw you was it!" He squeezes her tighter into him. "If I die tomorrow-"

"Don't say that, Katniss!" He pulls back now to look at her. "I will protect you!" Katniss puts her hand up to his mouth.

"If I die tomorrow, I want you to know that I love you." Peeta's eyes soften. Peeta pulls her hand from his mouth.

"You love me?" He asks.

"Yes." He kisses her forehead.

"Now I'm definitely not going to let anything happen to you. Not to the woman who loves me." She grabs his hand, tugging him towards the bedroom.

"Make love to me tonight." Peeta eyes her with a smirk.

"What? The door doesn't even close." He says while trying to push the door closed. The door creaks open with every push. "See?"

"If someone wasn't so eager to come in…" Katniss says with her own smirk.

"If some people would have just opened the door instead of making me assume the worst…"

"Alright, fine!" Katniss lets go of Peeta's hand and uses her back to slam the door closed. "Make love to me against the door!" Peeta grabs one of the dining room chairs. He gently pushes Katniss to the side and jams the chair under the door knob.

"Now, wouldn't that have been easier?" Peeta says with a smirk. He grabs Katniss' hand and pulls her to the bedroom.

When they pass the threshold, Peeta pulls her into him and kisses her slowly. She peels his jacket off of him, then pulls his shirt over his head. Katniss runs her hands down his chest. When she reaches his abs and pushes lightly, Peeta flinches. Katniss looks at him in concern. Her gaze drops to where her hands are. Bruises scatter his torso and Katniss lets out a breath in both frustration and guilt. She presses against him, eliciting a painful moan from Peeta.

"What happened? You said you were fine…" She leads him over to the bed making him sit. She kneels in front of him to check his injuries. "Damn it, Peeta." Katniss stands and leaves the room. She returns a minute later with a bottle in her hand. Peeta watches as she squeezes some of the solution into her hand. She rubs it into her hands then places her hands on his bruised body.

Peeta hisses. "What is it?"

"It was in your bag. It's supposed to soothe this type of thing." She continues her treatment.

"It feels better already." He chuckles slightly.

"What the hell happened, Peeta?"

"You think I got out of there without a fight? In a gym, with barbells, and other heavy and painful machinery? Marvel is a trained killer." He groans as Katniss nurtures a particularly painful part of his injuries. "Well, was."

"You killed him?"

"It was either him or me, Katniss. I had no choice."

Katniss meets his eyes. "I know." Her hand caresses his cheek. "Lay back." She tells him.

Peeta does as he's told and chuckles. "You're going to have to be gentle with me." Katniss reaches for his pant's button. She pulls his shoes off and pulls his pants down. Peeta pulls the covers back, getting under them, as he watches Katniss strip her own clothing. Soon after, Katniss is under the covers with Peeta. She lays next to him, awkwardly, not sure if she should lean on him due to his injuries.

"Come here." Peeta whispers in the darkness. She's instantly cuddles into him. She had missed this. She'd missed him.

"I love you, Peeta."

"I love you, too." Peeta whispers quietly into her hair. He lays there silently tracing small circles on her arm.

Katniss breathes in deeply. "Peeta, go to sleep." Peeta moves his hand from her arm and trails it down to her spine. He finds the hem of her shirt and begins to trace more circles at the base of her back.

Katniss' eyes open as she looks around the room curiously. His hand's proximity wasn't soothing her; it was only making her hot and needy for his touch, more south. Katniss feels Peeta caressing the back of her thigh and it makes her breath hitch.

"Lay on your back." Peeta whispers. Katniss only raises herself a bit and places a chaste kiss on his lips before she does as instucted. Peeta groans in pain when he tries to look over her. The pain makes him lay back down with Katniss hovering over him in concern.

"Peeta-" Katniss tries.

"Katniss," He looks up at her and gently caresses her cheek. He breathes in deeply before sitting all the way up in bed, his face cringing a bit from the action.

"Peeta," She tries again as he stands next to the bed. Katniss can only watch as he turns towards her and motions for her to follow. She sits on the edge of the bed looking up at him and is about to stand up when Peeta lowers his lips to hers. His hand massages the nape of her neck as he begins to trail kisses from her ear to her collar bone. "Peeta…" This time, it comes out more lustful, with want.

"Lay back." He whispers and she complies. Katniss watches as Peeta drops to his knees in front of her. This makes Katniss jerk into a sitting position again. Peeta only looks at her curiously before Katniss captures his lips. She knew what he wanted to do, for her, but she wanted them both to enjoy it. She wanted him, needed him. "I want to make you feel good, Katniss." He whispers.

"I know." She kisses him sweetly before she pats the spot next to her on the bed. When he sits, Katniss runs her hand up Peeta's thigh to the growing bulge in his pants.

"Katniss, I don't know if I can handle that…" He tells her honestly.

"Shh, I'll be gentle, like you asked." She looks around the room and her eyes settle on the headboard of the bed. "Lean your back against there." She points. Peeta shuffles back until he's in position. She points to his boxers with a wicked smirk before Peeta lifts himself enough to pull them down. He watches, mesmerized, as Katniss shimmies out of her own underwear, the only thing covering her, his t-shirt she wore to bed.

Peeta reaches for her as she crawls over to him and they kiss briefly before she positions herself over him. His hands are on her waist instantly, holding her back.

"Katniss, wait!" Peeta tries, but Katniss only kisses him passionately.

"Peeta," she huskily whispers against his lips.

"I don't want you to get pregnant." He whispers back.

"Peeta, do you know the chances of getting pregnant from one time?" Katniss tells him with a smile.

"Let me take a page out of your book…" Peeta taps his chin. "What if you're ovulating and I'm just a very fertile man?" Peeta asks with smile of his own.

"Then, we're bound to each other for the next eighteen to twenty years." She lowers herself onto him, moaning at the feel of him.

"You're trying to trap me, woman." Peeta throws his head back as Katniss moves against him.

"Maybe…" She whispers into his hair. Katniss caresses his chest soothingly, not sure how much pressure he could take from his injuries. Her other hand grips the headboard as she moves up and down on him.

Peeta was really enjoying Katniss' control over him, but as much as she said she'd do all the work, he wasn't about to let that happen. His hands were on her thighs, making their way slowly to grip her hips. They both hiss when he begins to take more initiative by thrusting his hips upwards in time to match her movements. His right hand grips her tightly as their speed increases.

Katniss pushes herself closer into him as her orgasm was just in reach. Peeta's free hand traces a path up her stomach to her breasts. He only briefly lavishes them as both of them were too close to their end. His hand ascends, finally stopping once he cups her cheek softly. He gently turns Katniss face to look at him and her eyes open to look deep into his eyes.

"I want to see you come for me," Peeta whispers against her lips. His arms wrap around her body, pulling her even closer. They're faces are inches apart, breathing heavily, but their eyes never leave each other. It only causes both their orgasms to rip through them with such an unexpected intensity. Both of them are so exhausted by the end that Katniss just rests her forehead against his, ready to fall asleep on top of Peeta, who was still backed up against the headboard.

"Katniss?" Peeta whispers.

"She's sleeping…" He laughs as he gently lays her down on the bed and takes his place next to her. Peeta turns to watch her with a smile on his face. He sighs before placing a kiss on her head and turning towards the ceiling. A minute later, Katniss pulls herself up so she's cuddled into his chest making Peeta chuckle.

"I thought you were sleeping…" Katniss turns her head up towards him and kisses him on the lips.

"I love you, Peeta."

"I love you, too." He tells her as he pushes her hair behind her ear. "I wish I could freeze this moment."

"We're all hot, sticky, and tired…" Katniss scoffs incredulously, "Why would you want to?"

"Why wouldn't I?!" His hand drops to her stomach. "I mean, this could be the moment my baby is made."

Katniss eyes open to stare at nothing in particular and she clears her throat. "How would you feel if that was true?"

"Honestly?" Peeta feels Katniss nod her head on his chest. "I would be terrified…" She feels him shudder under her. She quickly looks up at him and brings her hand up to his cheek.

"Hey, it's not going to happen." Peeta meets her eyes; he's not convinced. "And if it does, we'd be okay because we have each other." He smiles at her making her smile back.

"You are so cheesy!" Peeta laughs. Katniss pushes off his chest, making him cringe, and turns away from him. She would be scared too and he thought it was funny. Moments later, Peeta's arms are around her waist. "I'm an insensitive jerk."

"You are."

"But you still love me?" Peeta nudges his face into her neck.

"Yea, yea, yea."

Happy? Let me know. There's only a handful of chapters left and it's going to get very...interesting.