We climb under the fence and being the walk to our spot in the woods. He doesn't speak the whole time we walk, the silence between us feels different than it did before, more heavy and more awkward. Gale checks the snares as we walk along the path. I try to help him, but he is quicker than I am and is already finished by the time I check a couple, but I'm also not trying. More so just doing it to fill the space between us. We approach the clearing, which is closer than our usual hunting area and Gale stops, a few paces ahead of me. Standing in the middle of the field here, we could be visible to anyone who decides to look just the right way between the tree's at the bottom of the hill, the dirt road leading into Twelve is visible from here as well.

"I thought we would go to our usual spot," I look around, anxious about if someone would see or hear us.

"You know as well as I do that no one uses this road often. Besides, I figure this won't take long and that we won't be hunting afterwards."

"Gale... we have to go. It's time."

"What are you talking about?"

"We have to leave Twelve. It's not safe anymore."

"Just where are we going to go?"

"The woods. Just like we've always talked about. You said it yourself, before the reaping, we could make it. We need to go now. We could be far away from here by tonight." Gale scoffs and looks away from me.

"Yeah, well who's we? You, me, and your fiancé? Some act you put on by the way, was really great to hear the cheers echoing through the mine when you said yes to him, hearing just how beautiful it was."

"Are you really going to start this right now?"

"Yeah. You didn't have to get engaged to him Katniss!"

"It doesn't matter," We would come back to this conversation later, "It's not just Peeta and I anymore." He turns to face me, his eyes widen as he looks at me.

"You really did it then, you slept with him. That's why you're so willing to leave all the sudden, you're pregnant."

"I'm not pregnant," That is the only statement from his sentence that I'm able to deny, "Snow threatened to have you killed."

"Great. Why didn't you tell me this sooner? Anyone else?"

"I mean he didn't exactly hand me a copy of his list but a good guess it includes both of our families, and Peeta's."

"Unless what? You actually go trough with this marriage?"

"No. Unless nothing now... what do you say?"

"Do you love me Katniss?"

"Gale," I don't know how to answer his question truthfully, yes, I love him, but something was different between Peeta and I, there was more than just an act there. I felt something toward him too, and I'm not sure how it compares to what I feel for Gale. It's best to avoid the question and give him the usual answer of not being able to think about relationships, "You know the way I feel about you, but I can't think about anyone like that right now. All I can think about is how afraid I am. But maybe, if we were somewhere safe, things could be different."

In a world without the games, in a world where I didn't need Peeta to survive, in a world where I never was dragged into this star-crossed lovers act with him, maybe things could be different. In a world without Snow. If things were different, if Prim's name was never called, if there were no Hunger Games, if there was nothing but normalcy, things could've been different. But that's not real life, and that's not this time, the odds of anything being different if we leave, are just about as good as the odds were of Peeta and I both surviving the games, nonexistent.

"Do you think Snow is just bluffing?"

"No. He isn't. Not with everything happening in the districts."

"What? What did you see?"

"There were people and fires, and peacekeepers were gunning them down, but the people in the people in the district's they were..." Gale steps closer to me.

"They were what? The people were what?" He looks at me expectantly, almost excited.

"They were fighting back."

"Oh my god," He turns away from me, walking a little bit in the opposite direction and walking back, "It's finally happening!"

"What's happening?"

"The rebellion!"

"If I would've just died in the arena like I was supposed to, everything would be normal. Everyone would be safe again."

"Safe? You think we were safe before? Safe to what? Starve here in Twelve? Work like slaves for nothing? Send children to the reaping and watch them die for the capitals entertainment? Despite what Snow might have said, you haven't hurt anyone. You've given then an opportunity, it's up to them what they do with it."

"Gale, we have to go. They will kill us."

"What about the ones who stay in Twelve? What do you think is going to happen to them? Snow is just going to show them mercy because you ran away. People are looking to you. I've been hearing talks in the mines, the people want to fight."

"Don't you get it?!" I yell at him, "I don't want anyone looking..."

I hear a series of vehicles quickly approaching Twelve, Gale hushes me and pulls me down to a crouch as we watch the vehicles pass. Each one is carrying multiple peacekeepers, they are going to flood the district with peacekeepers, maybe even destroy the district like they did to thirteen. The vehicles turn to head toward the town square and the hob. Once they pass, Gale stands up. I do the same and look up at him, pleading with him to understand that we must leave before it's too late.

"You and your fiancé can do whatever you want. But I'm staying here." I sigh, he knows that I won't leave unless he comes too, "Katniss?"

"Yeah?"

"The question I asked you earlier, about really doing it this time. You said you aren't pregnant, but you didn't deny anything else."

"Gale," I don't have the words to say to him, I know my answer will hurt him.

"It's true then, you slept with him."

"Yes. It was just the one time though."

"Before Snow made you agree to an engagement, or after?"

"After. The night of the party in the capital, about a week ago. Gale, there's something else you should know."

"What is it this time? Are you in love with him?" Maybe.

"The engagement wasn't Snow's idea..." We're interrupted by smoke flowing into the sky, flames visible even from here. Something is burning near the town square, it doesn't take long before Gale realizes where it's coming from.

"The hob. They're burning the hob."

We both begin to run back down the path and sneak under the fence. He is ahead of me, running full speed toward the hob. I follow his lead, as we get closer we start to see people fleeing, with various degrees of injuries and ash covering them. I notice Greasy Sae stumbling toward us, Gale catches her first and I catch up to him, blood coming from somewhere near her eye and black ash covering her face. Peacekeepers bring people out from the Hob, young and old, pushing them onto their knees, one begins to reach for what I assume is his gun. Gale notices this too and before I'm able to grab for him, he is across the street, tackling the peacekeeper, landing on top of him on the group and pinning his arms above his head. He motions for me to go with Sae. As I lead her away from the area, I notice the peacekeepers pulling him away from the Hob.

I kneel in front of Sae, running a piece of cloth under some cool water and pressing it against her eye. The blood was from a minor cut on her eyebrow, she has a little bit swelling, but she escaped the Hob with nothing major. I hear sounds coming from the direction of the square, they are faint but I can tell it's someone in pain, the sound is almost familiar to me. I stand up, listening to the grunts and yells more carefully. Gale. I instruct Sae to keep the cloth on her eye and leave, heading toward the square with no idea what to expect. The sounds get louder the closer I get, I can hear something striking skin before the cries come. They're whipping him. I move quicker, however a crowd has formed, everyone just watching as they torture him. I manage to break my way through the crowd, just in time to see a peacekeeper deliver another blow to Gale's back. I don't think of my next move, I can't think of anything except getting Gale out of here. I run over to the whipping post, grabbing the peacekeepers elbow before he has the chance to strike him again. I'm met with a blow to the cheek, it's forceful enough to knock me to the ground. I stand up, putting myself between Gale and the peacekeeper. He raises his gun at me, expecting me to back down, but he is going to have to do a lot more than that to make me leave.

"You wanna shoot me? Go ahead. Snow will probably thank you for it later, or kill you for it, depends on if he wanted to do it or not."

"Woah, woah, lets take it down a bit," Haymitch runs over to us, he has been drinking, but he appears more sober than usual, "You do not want to shoot her! Don't you recognize her?"

"Katniss," Peeta approaches us now, Haymitch pushes him behind him, "You're cheek."

"How about I shoot all of you," The peacekeeper questions Haymitch.

"Are you sure Snow would want three dead victors?"

Peeta places his hand on my chin, tilting my face up to look at where I was hit. He pulls me against him and I don't object, I let myself melt into his arms, wrapping mine around him tightly. I'm glad he's here and truthfully, I'm glad to be in his arms, they make me feel safe. Haymitch is still trying to reason with the peacekeeper. Peeta lets me go, but stands in partly in front of me. I glance back at Gale, there is blood on his back, the lashes were deep and cover almost all of his upper and part of his lower back.

"Look, I know you're new here, so trust me when I say that I'm trying to help you. She's Katniss Everdeen, darling of the capital?"

"She interfered with a peacekeeper."

"Well I never said she was smart. You got a couple of lashes in on the boy and you already marked up her face..."

"On the night before our wedding," Peeta interrupts.

"Shut up Peeta," Haymitch glares at us before he continues on, "Let it go. We will too."

"Alright, but next time, the firing squad. I don't care who she is or who any of you are."

The peacekeeper turns away from Haymitch and orders everyone to clear the square, announcing a new curfew and threatening to shoot anyone seen outside after it. I kneel down and untie Gale's hands from the post. Peeta helps me get him to his feet and a couple of guys from the mine come over, helping Peeta carry him to my house. My mom and Prim are in the kitchen when we arrive and they immediately clear the table for him. Prim gets my moms kit and lays it on the counter and they begin to work on preparing medications for him.

"Prim, her cheek," Peeta motions to me. Prim looks at the mark, nodding and turning back to Gale.

"He needs a snow coat. Peeta go get the snow," Prim hands him a large bowl and sends him out. The guys from the mine leave as well. Gale is still in pain, alternating between groaning and yelling out through his gritted teeth.

"Make it stop. He's hurting."

I grab his hand, trying to provide as much comfort as I can to him. Prim draws up some medication and inserts the needle near his shoulder blade. I know it's something for his pain, but it must hurt as it goes in. He groans out more, tears stinging his eyes. I don't know that I've ever seen Gale cry before. I can't stand to see him in so much pain, breaking him down like this. I do the only thing I know to do. I lean down to him, pressing my lips against his as Prim finishes administering the medication to him. I pull back after a few seconds. Peeta brings the snow in, Prim applies to coat to Gale's back. I stay beside him, holding his hand. Peeta rubs my shoulders as I stand there. Eventually Gale drifts off to sleep, the pain no longer bothering him. Prim and my mother go into the other room, leaving me there with Peeta. He pulls out one of the chairs at the table and motions for me to sit. He pulls out the one beside it and sits down next to me. Peeta doesn't leave, he stays by my side over the next few days. Gale mostly sleeps, my mom says it could be like this for another couple of days. I sit down in the chair, running the thumb over Gale's hand as he sleeps. Prim had just gone to bed and my mother had been asleep for a while. Peeta is sitting next to me. I look over at him and smile.

"Thank you," I say to him, "For helping... and for staying."

"Of course," He glances over at Gale, "Did you tell him?"

"About?"

"What happened on the train," I notice Peeta's face falls as he asks me, "It's fine. I should have known better than to think anything had changed."

"Yes." He looks at me, meeting my eyes again, "I told him. We didn't get to finish much of the conversation before they burned the Hob, but I told him."

"It doesn't change anything though. Are we still leaving, once he's feeling up to it?"

"No. We're staying," I look at Peeta, "I know you didn't use a condom and I just wanted to tell you, Effie gave me a pill about a week afterwards. So, we should be okay."

"Oh," His face turns pink as we talk about this, "That's good though, right?"

"Yeah," I want to laugh at him, he looks embarrassed, but also flustered, "I meant what I said that night. I wasn't acting. I don't know what, but something has changed between us and I don't want to be without you."

"I know. I feel it too." He leans over to me, "I know you kissed him again. When he was in pain. I'm not mad. I just don't exactly want you kissing him again if I have the choice."

I can't help the smile that his comment brings to me, he's jealous. It's a cute jealous, not the type where he gets mad and possessive. It's the type where he tries to deny he's jealous, even though everything about him gives it away. But he has no reason to be, I didn't give my first time to Gale, I gave it to him, and if I had to make the choice again, I would. It's true that I love Gale, but I think that I'm beginning to fall in love with Peeta. The night on the train was close to three weeks ago now. I've grown closer to Peeta over the last few days, we've gotten to know more about each other, and we've come up with some other ideas about how to pull off the show for Snow. He rubs my back as I lay my head on the edge of the table.

"Katniss, you've been sleeping like this for days. Go to your bed. I'll stay with him." I know better than to argue with Peeta when it comes to anything involving my health or comfort.

"Okay, thank you." I give him a hug, lingering in his arms for a moment longer than necessary before walking to my room and falling asleep.

I wake up to a feeling in my stomach, I don't recognize it immediately. I sit up and look around, light is flooding the room. I must remind myself that I slept in my bed last night and not in a chair. I stand up, the feeling in my stomach growing more. It's a nauseous feeling, I figure eating something will help. I walk down the stairs and into the kitchen, being careful not to wake my mom and Prim. When I finally reach the kitchen, I see Peeta sleeping in the chair and Gale sleeping on the table. The snow coat from last night has melted off and onto the floor. It should be any day now that he starts feeling better and is able to move around some. I kiss Peeta's cheek, carefully so I don't wake him, and walk to the fridge to get some milk, pulling some crackers from the cabinet as well. The wave of nausea washes over me again and I move to the other side of the kitchen, leaning over the sink before gagging and throwing up.

"Katniss," Peeta gets up quickly and walks over to me, gathering up my hair to hold it, "Are you sick?"

"I don't know," I get sick again and then lean back against the counter, taking some deep breaths. Peeta gets a cloth and runs some warm water over it, offering it to me as he rinses out the sink. "Besides being tired, I've felt okay. I think it could be adjusting to being back in twelve."

"Or your cheek could be infected. I think you need to let your mom or Prim check you. She's outside gathering more snow."

"Peeta, I'm fine." Almost as if trying to prove me wrong, nausea overtakes me again, causing a repeat of earlier.

"I'm getting Prim." Peeta walks outside and returns with my sister. I roll my eyes, trying to convince them that it's probably just a twenty-four hour bug, but Prim loves to practice and Peeta is convinced my cheek is infected.

Prim finishes looking over my cheek, announcing that it's not infected, just like I thought. She pushes around on my stomach but doesn't say much about it. She glances down at my ankles and feet. I haven't noticed that they're swollen. She points this out, pausing from me to look at Peeta, and then to Gale.

"Katniss..." I know the look on my sister's face, she is thinking something.

"What is it Prim?" Based on this look, the news she's about to share with me can't be something good.

"Did you and Peeta..." She trails off and I just nod, not able to find my voice. My little sister just asked if I'd been sleeping with Peeta. "Did you take precautions?"

"I took a pill about a week after, Effie gave it to me."

"Peeta," She looks over at him and then at Gale, making sure he's still asleep, "Can you give us a minute?" Peeta's face is red at the moment and he is more than happy to leave the room for the rest of the conversation, although I can't help noticing a hint of fear in his eyes as he leaves.

"Prim, can you please just tell me what's going on?" I look at her, starting to get worried myself.

"I want you to take this to be sure," She scrambles through a bag until she finds something that looks like a strip of paper, "But I think you're pregnant."

Those words are all it takes for me to burst out laughing. The thought of me having a baby has never even come to my mind, expect in the situations where I was specifically saying how much I don't want baby, not here and not now. I stare at Prim, waiting for her to tell me this is some joke Peeta has put her up to. She doesn't say that though, instead she hands me the strip and a small cup. I realize she is serious; how could I be pregnant? I barely get to the bathroom before the tears start streaming down my face. I take the test and stare at the strip; I don't have to wait very long to see the image I was hoping I wouldn't. There are two lines, I'm pregnant, with Peeta's baby.

"Shit," I sigh as I walk out of the bathroom and return to the kitchen, handing the positive test to Prim.

She hugs me and I hold her in my arms. I never expected this to happen, I never thought that I, Katniss Everdeen, would ever have a baby while I live in Twelve in these times, much less the baby of Peeta Mellark, but I am, Peeta walks back into the room and comes over to where my sister and I are standing. I don't say anything to him, I can't find my voice to say anything. Instead, I hand him the test, not meeting his eyes. I feel his hand on my shoulder and then I'm being held against his body.

"You're pregnant?" I just nod against him, "It's okay. We will figure it out, but for what it's worth, I'm happy and I want to keep our baby."