I drop the knife to the ground. It falls in a mud pit next to my feet. She looks up at me, her eyes darting everyone, scared and paranoid.

"K-Katniss!" I gasp softly. I rush to her and grab her shoulders. "Katniss where have you been baby?" I ask.

I pull her close and wrap my arms around her. I hug her for a very long time. "Katniss. I've missed you so much."

She remains silent. I look at her, she doesn't say anything. "Katniss?" I ask her softly. "Can you speak." I almost plead.

She shakes her head just barely.

"No, she can't." A frail voice says. "She hasn't in days."

I grab her shoulders and jump. A small group of children appear the largest of them stands in front.  "Who are you?" I ask softly taking a step towards them.

"Your children." She smiles.

"W-What?" I whisper. "My children?"

"Our parents, killed in the war. Katniss is our mother now. Mother of the war, mother of us. That makes you, our father."

"You kids are delusional." I shake my head. "Come on, were going Kat." I say and begin to walk away with her.

Her feet stay planted still. "She won't leave us." The child says again.

"Why?"

"She's our mother."

"She isn't. Now come on Katniss!" I plead. "Your real children miss you."

She still doesn't move. "Cut the shit Kat, i'm serious." I say quietly. Still her eyes are empty as she looks at me. "You've left me no choice." I shake my head. All of them watch me. "Gale!" I call looking into the lead child's eyes. "Gale! I found her."

She slips from my grasp for a split second before I grab her again. She tries to run away with the children, but I refuse to let go.

She finally speaks. "Let me go!" It's less of a suggestion, more of a plea.

"I can't." I whisper back. I'm laying on top of her now, holding her down on the ground as we wait for Gale.

We stare into each other's eyes as I watch her struggle. "Catnip!" A voice says beside us. "Katniss oh my god!" He cries crashing down on his knees next to us. "Why is she on the ground?" He asks.

"She tried to run." I say.

"Well let's get her up." I nod as we stand her up together. Barnett comes crashing through the woods.

"I saw kids." He says breathlessly.

"So did I." I say as we start to walk. "I talked to them. They were with her. Told me she was they're mother, which made me they're father in some twisted way."

"who were they?" Gale asks.

"Orphans." I say.

"Not your problem. All that matters is you got the girl back." Barnett nods sternly.

A dead silence falls over us. I wrap my fingers in hers, and squeeze. I almost jump out of my skin when I feel her squeeze back. She is still in there. My Katniss still remains in that broken shell of a person.

"Kat." I just barely whisper. Her fingers squeeze mine yet again. "Can you talk?"

She doesn't respond, just looks at me with very sad eyes. "When's the last time you've eaten?" I ask her. She merely shakes her head.

I nod. "I didn't think so. Guys let's stop at the hob quickly, maybe that'll help her."

We walk together into the hob. I walk straight to Sae's stand. Where I order Katniss' favorite soup, the wild dog.

I set it down in front of her, and hand Sae a few coins. It takes her a few seconds before she lifts the spoon and takes a bite.

Sae taps my arm. "What's with her?"

"We found her in the woods." I just barely whisper. "She's been missing for about two weeks."

She shakes her head. "Well are you hungry?" She asks me.

I ignore the crazy sounds my stomach is making and shake my head. "No, I'm fine, thank you Sae." I smile.

Katniss finishes the bowl, and pushes it towards me. "Do you want more baby?" Sae asks. Katniss nods and she refills the small wooden bowl. "There's way more where that comes from girl. Eat up."

Katniss just barely smiles. It's the first one I've seen. "She won't talk." I tell her as we stand a few feet back from her. I lean on the new countertop. "Hell when I found her she tried to run off again."

"Run off?" She raises an eyebrow. "Why in the hell would she do that?"

"I'm not sure."

She claps my back twice. "Well boy I'm sure you'll figure it out. But I got mouths to feed, so I'll talk at you some other time."

"Thank you sae." I smile as she walks away.

Katniss finishes her soup and looks around. She stands up, and begins to walk towards a vendor. Gale, Allen, and I follow her slowly.

She runs her fingers over some thin silky fabrics. She picks one up and breathes in the scent. She rubs it against her cheek.

"What is she doing?" I ask Gale.

He smiles weakly. "Prim used to carry around a blanket. Kat and I made it, we used that fabric."

Gale walks up to her placing a soft hand on her lower back. I hear him mumble words to her and she nods then wraps her arms around his neck.

I smile and walk over to them. "We're gonna walk to her grave." He tells me.

Allen looks at me. "If you want to go home and get a shower go right ahead, it'll be a little till we get home." I tell him.

"I'll start dinner or something while I wait."

I nod and watch him walk off. I take her hand in mine, Gale is on the other side of her.

We walk to her grave, and she sits down on her knees placing her hands softly on the soil.

"I planted some flowers the other week." Gale tells her. She smiles up at him. "I thought you'd like that." She nods.

She sits there for half an hour. Just taking slow deep breaths.

My poor Katniss. She's been through so much. So much pain and suffering, I wish I could take it all away. Take her somewhere safe where none of this ever happened. Where none of us will ever be hurt again. But I don't think that'll ever happen.

I feel a soft hand above my knee. She pulls my pant leg twice and looks at the ground. "Sit?" I ask softly. I sit next to the grave and and moves to sit closer to me. She looks at Gale, and she gives him a certain look.

"I'm leaving." He smiles and walks away.

She looks back at me. Places her hands on my cheeks, softly rubbing up and down. She places her ear to my chest and listens. Then takes a deep breath.

"Are you real?" She just barely asks.

"I'm real baby.." I whisper back. "I promise."

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"Why didn't you come home?" I ask.

"I didn't want to." She answers simply.

"Why?"

"I found my place with those kids. I felt obligated to help them."

"Obligated why?" I ask in a hushed tone.

"They lost their parents in a war I started. I felt guilty."

"Katniss if I've told you once I've told you a million times, that war wasn't your-"

"Wasn't my fault. I know baby." She smiles. "I've realized that now. I've also realized I need you. I need you and only you to survive baby." I feel a tear roll down my cheek. "I love you so damn much Peeta. And I take you for granted and it needs to stop."

"How do you take me for granted?"

"Running off like this. Being stupid and childish knowing you'll always be there to come back to no matter how much I fuck up."

"That ain't taking me for granted." I shake my head. "I'm here because I love you. Not because I have to be." I say stroking her cheek.

"Well whatever is it baby, I'm so glad your here. Because I love you."

"I love you too." I whisper pushing our foreheads together.

"Just know whatever dumb shit I pull in the future, I love you and never ever want to be with anyone but you."

"I love you too Katniss." I whisper.

We stay silent with our foreheads together for a long time. Both of us breathing deep taking each other in.

Finally for the first time in two months, she presses her lips to mine. I can taste her lips again, her soul.

She's mine. I'm her's.

Anything different is unthinkable.