If he didn't know better, Cato would have believed he woke up in heaven. Quiet sounds of birds overhead, the soft melody of water running, the warm caress of the sun on his face as it peeked through the trees, his head resting in an angel's lap… of course, he knew that it was not an angel but instead his Katniss. He knew it was her, he could recognize that scent of rain and the fire that heated his skin upon her touch anywhere. Her hand was running softly through his hair, twirling the straight gold locks around her fingers. He kept his eyes close, not daring to move.

Not yet, not yet, not yet.

He knew reality would overtake him the moment he opened his eyes. He was not in heaven, and this place was not beautiful. The calm sound of the birds chirping was fake, the trees, the sun, the wind, the water… everything was fake, everything was dangerous. No peace existed here, there was no room for it in an arena. Memories flashed through his mind as he allowed them to. The fire, Katniss in a tree, climbing upwards, the fight with Clove, Peeta's scream, the tracker jackers, running, the hallucinations, his father, Katniss burning…

Goddamn, reality is a bitch.

"I know you're awake." Her voice was teasing as it cut through the forest.

Of course, the beauty of the arena may be a farse. Everything might be fake, sadistic traps designed to torture and murder, but his angel was real. Katniss was real, and she was here. His eyes flew open only to be met with bright white light, a spark of pain arose in his temple as his vision blurred. He heard himself groan as his eyes closed again, turning to hide his face in Katniss's stomach. He didn't remember the venom making him feel this awful ever before. It was more than likely that the Academy did not give him large doses, or perhaps it was less potent.

How considerate of them.

"You're okay, come on. We have to get up." He heard Katniss whispering to him, the teasing tone was gone. He opened his eyes again, slower this time, blinking to allow himself to get used to the light. His eyes focused, and there she was. Her braid had been redone, significantly shorter than it was before. She had ash on the edges of her face, a small cut on her left cheekbone, a bruise on the wrist that was running through his hair, the slightly swollen remnants of where she was stung lining that hand, a few on her neck, otherwise, she was okay. She was safe and she was beautiful.

"Hi" his voice croaked out. His throat was sore, mouth impossibly dry. The smoke and the screaming had taken its toll.

"Here." Katniss said reaching to her left to grab a small silver canteen that sat on the ground next to her. "Sit up." She told him. He shifted, using his arms to push his sore body upright. He groaned, wincing at the pain that tore through his arm. It was then that he remembered his fall, how he had injured himself in some way. It was because of this that Marvel had been able to take him down, he'd be dead if it wasn't for Peeta. He took the canteen from her, the water felt amazing on his raw throat.

"How long have I been out?" He asked between sips.

"I don't know, I woke up a few hours ago. You were still passed out, and you had me in a death grip." She answered, smiling softly.

"Sorry." He apologized sheepishly, handing her the canteen.

"It's alright, I was out of it for a while and then I had to pry you off me. You were pretty beat up." She took a swig of water, screwing the cap on. Cato hadn't realized until now the bandages on his body, cuts and bruises from his fight with Clove and everything beforehand were neatly bandaged. His jacket was folded next to him, even the self-inflicted cut on his arm was neatly wrapped, better than it was when he had done it himself.

"I hurt my arm when I fell." He told her, looking down to where his left forearm was swollen and bruised. His wrist looked strange.

"I know, I heard it snap when you hit the ground. I think I might be able to reset it, but it's going to hurt a lot." She lightly touched his arm, soft fire trailing across the bruises.

"Well, get it over with then." He said, sticking the limb further in her direction. Her eyes widened, meeting his.

"Are you sure? There were painkillers in your first aid kit… you could take some and wait for it to kick in before I- "He cut her off there.

"Katniss, I'll be fine. Just pop it back so it can heal." He smiled at her worried nature. She furrowed her brows, slowly placing her hands at strategic points on his arm. He tried not to wince as the pain intensified, building up slowly until shooting into a roaring pain as she pulled the bones back into place. He remained silent, forced his face to remain calm, still, he could never hide the way his body tensed up. A slick, wet crunching sound echoed in the woods as his bones realigned. At that moment, Cato let out a grunt, allowing himself to flinch. He hated showing pain, especially because he knew it would upset Katniss.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She repeated, moving to wrap her arms around him. He sighed, choosing to fully ignore the dulling pain in his arm at the prospect of having her so close. It only lasted a moment, before she pulled away to grab a long bandage to stabilize the injury.

"Are you alright?" She asked, still focused on applying the wrap.

"I'm fine love, I have the best nurse in the world." He smirked down at her.

"I doubt that's true. My mother is an excellent healer, and Prim takes after her. It's not really my thing." She answered.

"Could have fooled me." He shrugged as she secured the bandage in place.

"There, you should be alright now." She lightly tapped his arm as she spoke. He flexed his fingers a bit, making a fist and opening it. He even tried to move his wrist a bit, she had secured it tightly. It hurt him like hell, but not nearly as bad as before.

At least it's not my right arm, I need to be able to use my sword.

"Good as new, thank you." He reached forward to grab her face. Their eyes met, and Katniss sucked in a breath. Their separation had not only taken its toll on him. She had the familiar look on her face, the one that had been so confusing to him just days ago. Now, he knew what she was thinking.

"I missed you." She breathed out, seemingly entranced. He didn't respond, just leaned forward to kiss her. He wrapped his arms around her like she was made of precious gold, savoring what he had missed while they were apart. It felt like lifetimes ago since he had last kissed her like this, a millennium since he had felt the way her fire caressed his entire body. In fact, it had only been a few days… but in those days, he had lived through nightmare after nightmare. He had killed people, watched as the other Careers tortured that young girl, hours spent in constant anxiety, worrying about the girl who was now in his arms.

He pulled away, gently holding her face as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I missed you too." He uttered against her hair.

He felt her body tense up quickly. Looking down, he saw where she was looking behind him. In two seconds, he had her pinned against the tree they sat in front of, shielding her body with his. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, quietly thanking Katniss for not removing it while she was caring for his wounds.

But then, he saw what she had seen. Peering around a tree about 50 feet away was a pair of big brown eyes, lined with dark curly hair.

Oh god, not Rue.

Quickly, the little girl darted back behind the tree. He relaxed, noting the lack of danger. He glanced back at Katniss, who still seemed out of it from his fast movements. She met his eyes, silently pleading with him. He knew what she was asking.

It's been unavoidable this entire time. You knew Katniss wanted to be her ally. You knew the truth; you would never be able to kill this little girl. Something about her, so innocent and so pure, you would never be able to harm her. Just as you could never kill Katniss. You knew this moment would happen since the night you met on the roof for the first time.

Silently, he nodded at her. Katniss pushed past him to step towards the tree that the small girl hid behind.

"Rue," She said gently, "Rue it's okay… you don't have to hide. We are not going to hurt you." She called to the girl softly. This was a side of Katniss he was yet to see, the gentle older sister. This was the side of her that was the softest. He smiled at her, before turning his thoughts back towards the younger girl.

"Rue, I promise. I am not going to hurt you." He called to her softly. Katniss whipped around at the tone of his voice. She had heard him be gentle before, seen the loving side of him. But just like her, he had that other side… the one that was a big brother. The one who Alice addressed as her first word, toddled into his arms as she took her first steps. He felt a small twist of pain in his chest at the memory of his own baby sister. He was sure Katniss felt the same way.

"You just surprised me is all… It's okay sweetheart." He continued.

Slowly, Rue peered out from behind the tree once more. She stepped out injury free. There were a few leaves stuck in her hair, dirt on her face. She looked otherwise okay, aside from the pouty scowl on her face.

"I don't like to be called sweetheart." She glared at the boy that was five times her size. In front of him, Katniss could not contain her laughter. She smiled back at the blonde, cracking up.

Oh great, there's two of them.