The Hunger Games - Peeta Mellark (1)

}20{ - Berry Syrup

Getting the broth into Peeta took an hour of coaxing, begging, threatening, and yes, kissing, but finally, sip by sip, he emptied the pot.

Livia let him drift off to sleep then and attended to her own needs, wolfing down a supper of groosling and roots while she watched the daily report in the sky.

No new casualties.

Still, Peeta and Livia had given the audience a fairly interesting day.

Hopefully, the Gamemakers would allow them a peaceful night.

Livia automatically looked around for a good tree to nest in before she realized that it was over.

At least for a while.

She couldn't very well leave Peeta unguarded on the ground.

Livia left the scene of his last hiding place on the bank of the stream untouched- how could she conceal it?

They were barely fifty yards downstream.

Livia put on her glasses, placed her weapons in readiness, and settled down to keep watch.

The temperature dropped rapidly and soon Livia was chilled to the bone.

Eventually, she gave in and slid into the sleeping bag with Peeta.

It was toasty warm and Livia snuggled down gratefully until she realized it was more than warm, it was overly hot because the bag was reflecting back his fever.

Livia checked his forehead and found it burning and dry.

Livid didn't know what to do.

Leave him in the bag and hope the excessive heat breaks the fever?

Take him out and hope the night air cooled him off?

Livia ended up just dampening a strip of bandage and placing it on his forehead.

It seemed weak, but Livia was afraid to do anything too drastic.

She spent the night half-sitting, half-lying next to Peeta, refreshing the bandage, and trying not to dwell on the fact that by teaming up with him, she had made myself far more vulnerable than when she was alone.

Tethered to the ground, on guard, with a very sick person to take care of.

But she knew he was injured and still she came after him.

She was just going to have to trust that whatever instinct sent her to find him was a good one.

When the sky turned rosy, Livia noticed the sheen of sweat on Peeta's lip and discovered the fever had broken.

He was not back to normal, but it had come down a few degrees.

Last night, when Livia was gathering vines, she came upon a bush of Rue's berries.

She stripped off the fruit and mashed it up in the broth pot with cold water.

Peeta was struggling to get up when Livia reached the cave.