Chapter 37: Outcome

For the next four days the medical staff keep Katniss under sedation. They have decided her body can't take the episodes of delirium she is experiencing and she needs her rest to fully recover. As it stands, the strong antibiotic medications seems to be working, with her system responding and the infection finally coming under control. The wound on her shoulder is much less angry and beginning to heal.

Peeta and Katniss' mother have been taking it in turns to stay with her and mind baby Prim. They have not brought Prim in yet. They will wait until Katniss is further along in her recovery and can actually respond when she sees Prim.

Gale has been arrested and is now under guard in the Capitol, along with the other Peacekeepers who accompanied him on his mission. Paylor is waiting to interrogate him. Now that Gale knows the Capitol's dirty little secret, she needs to work out how she is going to broach the subject with him. That will not be easy, with Katniss in the hospital fighting for her life and Snow still undetected. At least the government have confirmation that Snow is still alive, but they need to do something about it. It will not remain a secret for long.

They are finally going to bring Katniss out from under the sedation and see how she responds. Katniss' mother has returned to the apartment and is going to take care of Prim for a while so Peeta can go and be with her. As he walks towards her room, Peeta wonders about Katniss' reaction to her fever. Peeta had been shocked when Gale explained to him that Snow had not been killed in the aftermath of Coin's demise, and that he had been the one holding Katniss captive. He couldn't imagine Katniss reaction to seeing Snow again and how horrified she must have been. Now they had to live with the knowledge that he was still out there, somewhere, waiting to make his next move. Katniss had been adamant that Snow was going to try and kill their baby. What baby? He felt certain that she wasn't talking about Prim.

The medical staff are at Katniss' bedside when Peeta arrives. He sits beside her on the bed, willing her to wake up calm and lucid. Katniss is still attached to the heart monitor and drip, but looks peaceful in her sleep. Peeta takes her hand. It could be a few minutes before she begins to surface from her sleep, so he just looks at her and loves her.

Peeta loves Katniss with his eyes. He loves her beautiful thick, black hair, falling around her shoulders. The curve of her neck, as he brushes her hair back from her face. Her smooth, feminine skin and soft features. He loves her full lips which he kisses gently now. Peeta strokes her face while he waits. He loves Katniss with his memories, thinking of all the moments they have had building up to this moment. Moments where neither of them was willing to give up on the other, the two of them protecting eachother and keeping eachother alive. Finally, Peeta loves Katniss with his whole heart. The heart that has been broken so many times, but always pieced back together again with the love the two of them share.

Katniss eyes begin to flicker open. She is starting to wake up. He holds her hand tightly as she begins to focus on the room and the people standing around her. Where is she? She feels the grip of someone's hand and sees the drip in her arm. Finally, she sees Peeta sitting alongside her on the bed.

"Oh, Peeta!" Without hesitation she puts her arms out to him and he takes her in a gentle hug.

"I am so sorry" Katniss whispers in his ear. Tears fill her eyes. A sense of relief floods her whole body as Peeta holds her and Katniss feels the comfort she always feels when Peeta's arms are around her. To think she may never have felt the strength and comfort of those arms again. the reassurance they provided and the surety that she was not alone.

"It's alright, Katniss. I know. Gale told me everything. It's not your fault. How were you to know he was still alive?"

Katniss just keeps holding him tightly and Peeta doesn't let her go. The only thing either of them want to feel right now is the arms of the other around them. Katniss pulls back slightly to look at him and then kisses him on the lips. It is a lingering kiss and one that Peeta returns with vigour. But this is not the time or place.

"How long have I been here?" Katniss asks.

"Five days now", says Peeta.

"Five days?!". Katniss is shocked. She knew her wound was bad, but didn't think it had affected her to the point of needing a five day stay in a Capitol hospital.

"Your wound became infected, then you became very feverish and you were delirious" says Peeta. "The doctors had to sedate you so that you could recover properly from the infection".

"Oh" says Katniss. "I was hallucinating?"

"You kept calling for me and telling me not to let Snow hurt our baby".

"Our baby? I must have been talking about Prim".

"I guess so, but when I told you she was safe and your mother was looking after her, you kept shouting "no" and saying "don't let Snow hurt him" Peeta tells her.

Katniss cannot remember any of this and is as surprised as Peeta at her delirious behaviour. Why would she be calling out to Peeta about a baby? A baby that doesn't exist. She apologizes to Peeta again. She obviously didn't know what she was saying.

"It's fine, Katniss. As long as you are feeling better now. We didn't want to bring Prim in until you were awake, so maybe we can bring her in this afternoon for a visit".

Poor Prim. She had been through so much now, too, and Katniss had not been there for her once again. Peeta sees Katniss becoming emotional and takes her closer in his arms to comfort her. He tells her it will be OK. Prim is fine and will be excited to see her later. They have both missed her and now it was time to celebrate having her back safe and sound. Nothing else matters.

"Gale!" Katniss suddenly remembers. What has happened to Gale?

"The Capitol has had him arrested, Katniss. He deliberately went against their orders and now it seems he will have to face the consequences". They both know this is wrong. He has saved Katniss' life and exposed the fact that President Snow is still alive. Surely he has done everyone a favour.

"But, he has done us all a favour" says Katniss.

"Unfortunately, the Capitol don't see it that way, Katniss. He is a soldier, a Peacekeeper and bound to obey any orders they give him. The government won't brook dissent, so we don't know what the outcome will be".

Katniss can't stand it. She sees the injustice of the Capitol's response to Gale's valiant rescue attempt and tells Peeta they need to talk to Paylor.

"Katniss, right now you are in no shape to do anything. I am keeping in touch with people who can update us on Gale's situation and will see if there is anything we can do".

"But…"

Peeta cuts her off.

"Gale knew what he was doing when he came to rescue you, Katniss. He knew the risk he was taking and I don't think he would have had it any other way. We don't want to do anything that could make this worse for him" says Peeta.

"OK" says Katniss. She is beginning to feel tired and dizzy so Peeta helps her to lay back down on the bed so she can rest. Katniss won't let go of his hand and holds it tightly as she asks Peeta to climb on the bed and lay beside her. Peeta just wants her to get better and bring her home. There is too much at stake if she does not make a full recovery.