Simply Everlark (After Mockingjay)

Chapter 9

I wake up to the distant sound of beeping from something resting beside my bed. Rather confused, I gently pry open my eyes, looking around the dark room only now realizing where I am.

The only hospital in Panem, located in the Capitol.

Memories swarm back into my apparent bandage wrapped head at a fast pace, causing a pounding pain in the back of my skull. Shortly after waking up, I gain the memory on why I am here.

It was a fall, a rather high drop from a latter actually. I can remember laying on the ground almost feeling lifeless before I drifted off, and the sound of someone calling my name. I know that the voice belonged to Peeta, having only him being in the house with myself. But what had happened after I fell unconscious?

Not wanting to put any pressure on the back of my head, I slowly rise from the pillow propping myself up. I wince from the rising of my head so quickly, and squeeze my eyes in an effort to ease the throbbing. Finally now in a sitting up position, I rest my head back so it is now leaning on the cushioned headrest of the bed. My fall must have been pretty brutal considering that I can't even sit up from the hospital bed without a large amount of pain.

I now have a full view of the hospital, sitting up and moving my eyes in every direction possible to catch the whole scenery. It is a standard hospital room. All of the walls are painted white dressed with the whitened curtains that are long enough to sweep the speckled flooring. The room is poorly lit with one source of light on the bedside table next to me. Judging by this lack of visibility, I can tell that it is the middle of the night, seeing nothing but black through the white curtains. I shift my head to the right slightly and catch a glimpse of the beeping machine. A faint green line rises and falls as I watch the process go over and over again. But what really catches my attention is the object behind the noisy machine, or should I say person.

Sitting in the middle of three chairs is a figure. He's tall, rather tall with his hair casting a shadow on the wall behind him. His figure is slouched, eyes planted on the ground like he is thinking about something. But his brute size tells me that it's not Peeta but another person I am glad that is here with me.

"Gale?" I whisper with my voice horse from a lack if speaking.

His head springs upward and I can now see his full appearance with the dim lamp shining over his features. His eyes are wide probably from my sudden decision to call his name and I can see from afar that they are red and rather swollen.

"Hey, Catnip." he smiles while standing upright, dragging his chair so the metal scratches against the floor. After pulling it to the side of my bed, he drops himself on the plastic chair, now his face just a small distance away from mine.

He remains locking eyes onto mine, looking up a bit from my greater height being on the bed and having his large self fit in a measly hospital chair. "You should lay down. Your doctor told me that it would reduce some of the pain. How are you feeling?"

"Well," I start while trying to maneuver my body down, but failing when only moving a few inches and the pain in my head increasing.

"Here," Gale stands up seeing by struggle to move. His hands slip under my lower back and the back part of my knees. With a swift movement, he lifts me. I cling onto his chest for a form of support as he situates me before slowly laying me back down.

Now in a laying position, thanks to Gale, I turn my head to the side partially avoiding the shooting pain present when I lay on the back of my head, and so I can be face to face with Gale.

"Thank you." I breath as he sits himself back down in the microscopic chair. He smiles at me but it fades quickly, searching my face and memorizing my appearance.

"I'm sorry this happened to you." he whispers while stretching his arm in search for mine. Our hands mold together and I can immediately feel the warmth that his scratchy hand provides. He lifts up my hand, still connected with his and brings it up to his face, caressing the top with his thumb as I fell his hot breath of my skin.

"How long have I been unconscious?" I ask cautiously, not knowing how long I have been out.

"About three days. We didn't know when you would eventually wake up. You seemed to have a pretty bad fall according to Peeta." he says and looks down at what it think are his feet.

"Where is Peeta?" I say slowly knowing that him and Gale had never been on good terms.

Gale gestures to the other side of the room. I turn my head slightly, avoiding any pain as the side of the room comes into view. Peeta is seated in the apparent second set of rugged chairs in the room. He is slouched over sleeping with soft snores escaping out of his slightly open mouth. His elbow is propped up on his knee, allowing his and to hold his drooping head from falling. He looks so peaceful from afar, but looking at his closer features, the truth shows.

His closed eyelids look almost swollen shut, much larger than normal. Redness and a shade of black line under is eyes is very visible for being such a far distance away from him. It's clear that he has been crying and having little to no sleep from the time I have been out.

"He really loves you, Katniss." Gale whispers causing me to take my gaze off of the sleeping boy and direct my attention otherwise.

"How so?" I say in the same volume as Gale's.

"Well," he starts adverting his eyes off of the floor, looking at our entwined hands and then back at me. "I thankfully was in the village that day. I was walking through to get to the woods. That's when Peeta ran out of his house with your body in his arms. He was crying, but it was a combination of screaming and crying and saying over and over again how it was his fault."

"I ran over to him after seeing you unresponsive. He was trying to tell me what happened, but it was all to much for him. He couldn't talk without hyperventilating, so I tried to calm him down. That's when your mentor came out and took matters into his own hands. It was my responsibility to get you safe, so I was the one who ended up taking you to the hospital while Haymitch calmed Peeta down. But the hardest part for Peeta was when he had to let you go. He was fighting it at first but then he just- collapsed, and that's when I left to bring you to the Capitol."

"He came here a little while after I brought you, and he has been here ever since." He finishes the thought and looks over at Peeta with what seems like sympathy. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm a little sore." I smile slightly to Gale who returns the gesture.

We sit just looking at each other, and it goes on for awhile until I feel my eyelids starting to grow heavy, threatening to fall any second now.

I feel Gale stir beside me, tossing around in the chair before leaning in I assume by feeling the way his breath fans over my face. With my eyes closed and waiting for sleep to take me under, Gale leans in farther, pressing a lingering kiss onto my forehead.

"Goodnight, Catnip." he whispers pulling away before I fall asleep.