I kneel down next to Peeta as my mother works on the duck Gale shot. He still hasn't woken, barely stirred really since the amputation. It's been hours and he almost looks as pale as before. I grab the pail of warm water at my side and start carefully cleaning him up, wiping away the sweat and blood and mud  from the woods. I hear Prim moving around next to me, taking more notes in her notebook about what happened. 

"It feels so weird," I say, "To be so close to him, yet feel like he's so far away." 

"You know you don't have to strip him down," Prim says and I look at her. 

"I know that," I say. "I don't feel comfortable doing that, even now. But I do know that I need to cut off this shirt. Get him as clean as I can while he's still in his undershorts. Prim nods, reaching into her bag and handing me a pair of scissors. 

"We use these for the bandages," she says. "It'd be a little gentler than that knife in your boot." I close my hands over them and carefully start cutting up the length of the shirt, pulling it open over his chest I shake my head at the varying shades of bruises on his skin. I carefully cut the rest of the shirt and gently pull it out from under him. Prim looks and shakes her head. 

"What?" I ask,  carefully wiping down his chest. 

"He's really, really pale," She says. "And these bruises are days, weeks even old. They don't look right."

"I know that he's a man, and has a lot of pride," I say. "It's embarrassing, for a guy his size to be beaten by a woman, which is why I never questioned when he flinched from my hand. But I knew. Deep down I knew, she was beating him and I didn't do anything because I thought that it was none of my business.  Now that I know, now that is my business, I'll make sure that someone makes her pay for every mark and bruise she's ever left on him." Prim kneels down and listens to his chest. Sitting back down, she rummages through her bag and grabs a bundle of tubing. 

"You should start eating," She says. "His blood pressure is very low. He's gonna need some of yours." I look at my mother and she hands me a small bowl. I place the rag I was using back in the pail and carefully start filling my empty belly. It's a bland, unappealing bowl of meat and broth, but I eat it like it's the best meal I've ever had. I watch as Prim wipes down the needles and the blood pump and I shake my head. 

"Sweet Hestia, I hate needles," I say and she chuckles, wiping down my arm with an alcohol soaked cloth. 

"Just hold still and remember why you are doing it," She says looping a tourniquet on to my arm. I nod and feel the needle poke into my arm. I take a deep breath and watch as she does the same to Peeta. Taping everything in place, she starts the blood flow. I clench and unclench my hand, taking a deep breath. "You should lay down. You'll probably start feeling light headed." I nod slowly and lay down on my makeshift bed beside Peeta.  My arm is lain up over his, trying to let gravity help the blood flow. His hand is cold against mine and I take a deep breath.

"I'm not stupid," I say. "I know he should have been awake by now." Prim shakes her head.

"His body has been through a lot of trauma," she says. "He never went into shock, he's not actively bleeding. Some people just need time. Peeta's gonna be okay. He just needs time." 

"We can't keep him a secret forever, Prim," I say. "He can't just sink into these woods and never come out again. He isn't that kind of person." 

"Lets just worry about getting him well first," Prim says and I sigh.

"He's so cold," I say quietly and she nods.

"He'll warm up," She says. "Once he gets his blood pressure up, he'll warm up and wake up." 

"He never let me get attached," I say. "He didn't let me fall into him when I felt something. He didn't want me to get lost."

"Lost?" Prim asks.

"I didn't want to stay in the forest, hiding away from the world for the rest of my life," I say. "Peeta started taking me out dancing in this club." 

"The Underground?" I hear my mother say.

"Yeah," I whisper and she smiles from above me. 

"I used to go there with my friends when I lived in the village," She says. "It's actually where Peeta's father introduced me to your father."

"Well, it started out as just dancing and now, every once in a while, the Musians who work there invite me to sing with them," I say. "Found out I had a talent for it."

"So you've been working on joining the Musian clan?" Prim asks and I shrug. 

"I didn't know yet," I say. "I was still figuring it out." I shake my head, looking up at him. "I went in for a kiss the other day and he turned me down because he wanted me to be able to figure myself out first. He told me that that wasn't what I needed. He wanted me to find myself before I worried about trying to connect with someone else."

"Because he knew that waiting on you wouldn't hurt anything, because you two would end up together in the end," Prim says, sounding all reamy like she's reading a fairytale. I ignore her and gently reach up and touch his face.

"It doesn't matter," I say. "It doesn't matter how I acted, how scared I was, how much sometimes I would just want to be alone. He's always been within arm's length. He kept himself there so my wings had room to grow without controlling me." Prim smiles and chuckles and I feel her messing with my hair. 

"He makes you really happy, huh?" She says and I glance at her.

"He accepts me for who I am and doesn't try to change me into something I'm not," I say softly as I look back. "Granted, I am changing. But he's not the one steering what way I'm going." Peeta groans a little and I sit up. Prim reaches forward and touches his cheek.

"His color is better and he's getting warmer," She says. "That fire bringer blood of yours seems to have worked a little magic in it of itself." I try sitting up and Prim sets a hand on my shoulder. "Don't move yet. I'm gonna get the needle out of your arms and a glass of water.  You probably aren't gonna feel too good for a little bit." I nod and feel her messing with my arm above me.I carefully reach forward and pull the needle from Peeta's arm, sitting up just a little bits I can push the blood filled tubes away, not wanting to look at hem. 

"How long until he comes around?" I ask and Prim shrugs. 

"It can't be too long," She says. "He's responding to you touching his arm." I look down and see his fingers moving a little in his sleep.

"Can you get a blanket?" I ask. "Now that he's warm again, and I got him cleaned off." She nods and walks into my mothers room, grabbing a warm blue afghan.

"This should be big enough for both of you," She says. 

"I don't need-" I start saying and she stops me.

"Katniss, just accept that this is something I know a little more about," Prim says, carefully laying the blanket over us. "For Peeta to get better, you had to lose just as much blood as he gained. You may be alright now, but you'll start to feel it a little bit pretty soon." I move over onto my side and carefully run my fingers up and down his arm. 

My mother walks around and looks at Prim's notes. She glances a me and smiles. Bringing over the bottle of apple flavored whiskey, she sets it on the other side of me and I glance at her.

"Here's this in case he needs it when he wakes up," She says softly. "Do you think you'll need anything else  before Prim and I go to bed?"

"What time is it?" I ask and she nods at the old clock on the wall. 

"About ten," She says. "I know he hasn't woken back up yet, but I'm pretty sure you two will be okay until morning." I nod and lay my head down next to his on the pillow. I pull up a fire on the hearth and groan a little, a pounding in my head as I use energy that Prim rightfully said I wouldn't have. 

"Yeah, we'll be okay," I say quietly and I feel her hand on my shoulder and hear the pairs of footsteps as she and Prim head for their bedrooms. I look back at Peeta and gently run the back of my hand along his cheek. I don't want to hurt him,  but I want desperately to see his blue eyes flutter back open. I hum softly to fill the quiet room, hating the waiting. I even start singing in a voice barely above a whisper to pass the time and maybe get just the smallest reaction from Peeta to know that he's still there inside the warm body I'm laying next to. I shake my head a little and take a deep breath.

"Why you thought to hide this from me, I'll never know," I whisper. "You knew, all this time that one day  we would end up together. I could have kept you safe. I could have made sure this kind of thing never happened just as fiercely as you would protect me from anything that might have come my way." I carefully stroke my fingers across his forehead, just watching him a moment. He groans a little and I lift my head. "Peeta?"

"I," he says softly, taking a deep breath after the word. "I didn't tell you because that was the best way I could protect you." I sit up a little and feel a little dizzy. He looks up at me and I lay my arm over him. He smiles just the littlest bit and I smile back. "Hey, Fire Flower." I start crying and his arm carefully comes up to cup my cheek. "Hey, don't cry, I'm okay." 

"I know, " I say and his hand carefully runs down my arm. "That doesn't mean I didn't worry. You were hurt so bad. You still are, Peeta."He shakes his head and carefully keeps running his hand up my arm. "You lost your leg because you were sneaking out to see me." He shakes his head.

"You can't blame this on yourself, Katniss," He says. "If it wasn't sneaking out, it was I burned something or the flour wasn't ground fine enough. My mother, she has a temper and she would have found a reason. Besides," He sits up a little and reaches his hand to my cheek again. "nobody at the clubs can tease me for two left feet if I don't even have one." I choke out a laugh and shake my head.

"You have s sick twisted sense of humor, you know that?" I ask and Peeta smiles, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"It made you smile," He says quietly. He groans a little and I press a hand to his chest, his skin warm and soft beneath my fingers. "And I have to say, I don't take to kindly to you stripping me down like this. I was vulnerable and you took advantage of me, Miss Everdeen." 

"You were covered in blood and mud," I say softly. "Somebody had to clean you up and it sure as hell wasn't gonna be anybody else here." Peeta smiles and leans his head against mine. I wrap my arms around him and feel myself crying again.  "I'm just so happy you're okay, Peeta." He kisses my temple and just sort of holds me against him. 

"I know, Katniss," He says quietly. "You don't have to worry so much anymore. We're gonna be okay."

"What do we do now?" I ask softly. He shakes his head and I feel his hand stroke his fingers through my hair. 

"I don't know," he says quietly, "But neither of us has gotten a good night's sleep in what, two days?" He pulls me away a little and looks at me "You're exhausted, Katniss."

"I'm fine," I whisper and he shakes his head. He holds out his arm, showing off the red mark left on his arm.

"I'm guessing that you have a matching one," He says and I nod slowly. "I think we should both probably just lay down for the night and worry about the rest of the world in the morning." He lays back down and I sit still for a little bit and then lay back down on my side. He looks at me and runs his fingers down my arm again. Even though he's right here, looking at me, he still feels so far away. "What's wrong now?" I sit up a little and lean down, kissing him gently. I pull away and look at him.

"Can you hold me?" I ask and he nods.

"Of course," He says softly, his hand stroking my cheek. I lay down on his chest and he kisses the top of my head. "I've never wanted anything more, than to hold you."  I wrap my tired arms around his chest and hear his heart beating in his chest as I tuck myself into his side, careful of his injuries. 

"I love you," I whisper and and his hand gently rubs my back as he holds me. 

"I know, Katniss," He whispers. "I love you too. Sweet dreams, Darling." I tuck my head into his chest and I feel my breathing even, finally able to find some kind of peace.