After Mockingjay

Chapter 13

A cold chill goes down my spine. It feels like it's below zero outside! I push the cold feeling away. I keep running to find him. "Ignore the cold." I tell myself. "You have to find Gale." I run for about ten minutes until I get to his house. I knock on the door and nobody answers. I walk around the house and all of his lights are off. It looks like he's not home, but that doesn't stop me. I get to his bedroom window and look in. The light is off, but I can the outline of a body. "Wait, that's two bodies!" I whisper to myself.

"Gale!" I yell banging on his window. He jumps out of bed and flicks on the light. All he has on are his boxers as he walks over to the window. "Oh Katniss. It's just you." he says laughing a bit. "Yeah." I say in a calm voice. "When you get your clothes on, come outside. I want to talk to you." He half smiles and runs to change. I walk to his porch and wait for him. I wait only about a minute or so before he runs out the door.

"What's up Catnip?" he asks in a cocky voice. I slap in across the face. "How could you!" I say trying to fight back the tears. "Nice to see you too." he says sarcastically rubbing his face where I slapped him. "How could you let my little boy do that? How could you let Finnick go to the meadow, Gale? I trusted you with one of the most important things in my life!" Tears are now running down my face as I scream at him. "I did what?" Gale asks. "Don't play dumb, Gale! You let Finnick go to the meadow and pick flowers. Well guess what! Because of you he got whipped! Because of you he could be dead! Does that not mean anything to you?" I ask him crying extremely hard.

"Wait, what?" he asks me. He's looking straight into my eyes now. I know he's not playing games with me. "Gale, Finnick got whipped 20 times. There's a fifty fifty chance he'll survive." I say softly to him. I sniffle and wipe my tears away trying to suck up the pain in my chest. "Oh Katniss! I'm so sorry! I didn't kn-" I cut him off screaming again. "How could you not know, Gale? You were responsible for him!" I say crying again. "Katniss, just let me explain what happened." he says rubbing his arms against mine trying to calm me down. "No Gale! I let do that once before! That was a mistake on my part. I never want to talk to you again! I hate you Gale!" I yell at him. I turn around and run back to the hospital. "Wait Katniss!" I hear Gale yell behind me. I don't say anything to him. I don't even turn around. I just keep running.

I run faster and faster and don't stop until I get to the hospital. I push open to doors and run to Peeta. He is sitting on the floor with asleep in his lap where I left him. I lean against the door and slide down next to him. I lean my head against his shoulder and sniffle a little. "What's wrong? Where did you go?" he asks playing with my hair. "I went to find Gale." I say sniffling again. "What? Why?" he asks as he stops play with my hair. He looks at me confused.

"Because I had to Peeta! He didn't even know what happened!" I say starting to cry again. "What do you mean he didn't know what happened?" He has a clueless look on his face, but yet he is still concerned. I wipe away my tears and sniffle so I can talk so he could understand what I was saying. "I mean he had no idea Finnick went into the meadow. He had no idea he got whipped either." His eyes tear up at the sound of this. "Katniss, that's why we can't trust him." he says. He kisses me and I lean against his shoulder again.

It feels as if it had been hours when a nurse come to us. I jump up and Peeta picks up Annie and stands up next to me. She's still sleeping when he does. "Finnick still hasn't opened his eyes. He has managed to let out a few groans, but that's all. We fixed up all the lashes. That's all we can do for now." she says to us. She looks as sad as we do. "Can I see him?" I ask her. "I'm not sure. Let me go ask. I'll be right back." she says and then she disappears into Finnick's room. Peeta kisses me on the cheek and tells me "It'll be okay. He's going to be fine."

The nurse comes back out. "Yes. You can come see him. Just try not to be too loud." she says as she shows us into his room. "Thank you." Peeta says and we walk in. She simply nods her head and walks away to the main desk. I open the door to Finnick's room.

I see him laying on his bed. His skin color is really pale and his eyes are still closed. I walk over to his quietly and grab his little hand. I sit down in the chair behind me and lean my head against our hands. Peeta stands on the other side of him. I begin crying again. Looking at the sight of my toddler in a hospital because of whippings from a peacekeeper is never something I ever thought would happen to me.

I look up at Peeta and he is crying a bit. I look back at Finnick. His eyes flutter a little bit. I look up at Peeta again and he's just looking at me. We both look back at him. He opens his eyes a little. "Finnick?" I say wiping my tears away. "Mommy?" he replies. "Yes sweety, it's me!" I say smiling at him. "Mommy, my legs hurt." he says looking at me. "I know they do. They will for a little while, but you'll be okay." I say kissing his forehead. "You better rest Finnick. We'll be back to see you first thing tomorrow." Peeta says. "Okay. I love you mommy. I love you daddy." he says as he drifts back to sleep. "I love you too Finny." I whisper back.

Peeta and I walk out the room. "Do you want to go home?" Peeta asks. "We both need sleep and I think Annie would be more comfortable in her bed." I say laughing a little. Peeta looks back at me. "Let her stay in our bad tonight. Just for safety." he says. "You're right. Come on, let's go home." I say then I kiss him.

Annnie is still asleep in Peeta's arms as we walk out of the hospital. It's very dark outside. I'd say it's about ten o'clock. We walk in silence for about ten minutes until Peeta grabs my arm and stops me. "Katniss?" Peeta says looking me in the eyes. "Yes Peeta?" I ask him curious to know what he's going to ask me. "You know I love you, right?" Peeta says. I smile and say to him "Of course I do! And I will always love you!" I kiss him on the cheek. "Good. I know you love me, I just needed to hear it." He pulled a strand of hair out of my eyes and kisses me. 

I haven't had a kiss like this from Peeta in a long time. I remember how much I miss them. We only stop again when Annie lets out a small groan from Peeta's arms. "Daddy, are we home yet?" she asks half asleep. "Almost sweetheart." he says kissing her on the forehead. She leans her head against his shoulder and goes back to sleep. Hearing him say that makes me think of Haymitch. I remember his sarcastic, yet loving voice. I miss him more than anything in this world. Except for Prim. She's number one on that list.