"Finnick! Reyna!" Johanna called, causing the formerly mentioned to start.

They got up, the woman giving her partner a reassuring kiss. He let out a slow breath, the tension leaving his shoulders. "Better?"

He grinned softly. "Much." The two went over to their allies, keeping close to each other.

"Where do the careers feel safest? The jungle?" Beetee asked.

"The jungle's a nightmare." Replied Johanna.

Peeta was the one to answer. "Probably here on the beach."

Beetee's gaze went to him. "So why aren't they here?"

"Because we are." Reyna answered, her arms crossed.

"And if we left, they would come."

"Or stay hidden in the tree line." Finnick commented.

How does he manage to make his voice so sexy all the time??? Reyna wondered incredulously.

"Which in just over four hours will be soaked in water from the 10:00 wave. And what happens at midnight?"

"Lightning strikes that tree." Answered the Girl On Fire.

"Here's what I propose. We leave the beach at dusk and head to the lightning tree." He said, pointing to the tree in question. "That should draw them back to the beach. Prior to midnight, we then run this wire from the tree to the water. Anyone in the water, or on the damp sand will be electrocuted." When Beetee finished, Reyna glanced at Finnick, gauging his state of mind.

He was doing relatively well, but if she knew anything about her friend+, it was that her death wasn't the only thing that haunted them. Either of them.

"How do we know the wire isn't just gonna burn up?" Asked Johanna.

"Because I invented it. I assure you, it won't burn up."

Everyone looked at each other. This could either work wonderfully, or end in disaster. "Well, it's better than hunting them down." Johanna said with a sigh.

"Yeah, why not?" Katniss asked, looking around the others. "If it fails, no harm done anyway, right?"

Peeta fiddled with the sand. "Yeah, I say we try it."

"So what can we do to help?" Reyna asked. Finnick had literally spelled the sentence out on her hand for her to say.

"Keep me alive for the next six hours. That would be extremely helpful."

Katniss and Peeta were conversing quietly a while over on the beach, and Beetee and Johanna were just talking. Reyna and Finnick were in the water, practicing drills with their weapons.

"Katniss is planning on leaving." The District 4 girl murmured quietly.

"Why does she have to be so difficult?" He complained, blocking a slash.

"Because she thinks we're all threats. And she's right, in a way." Reyna spun and kicked his trident back.

"If we hadn't kept her in the dark about the plan with 13, we wouldn't have this much trouble with just getting her to stay close." Finnick swept for her legs, which she barely jumped over in time.

"If we told her, it would just make things worse. She could blab or refuse." Reyna pushed his shoulder down and rolled across his back, planting her feet firmly in the sand on his other side and holding the sword to his neck."

He grabbed Reyna and pushed her down, pointing the trident at her. She was frozen, waiting for his move as the waves rolled gently over her. He then relaxed, standing back. "Still."

Finnick offered a hand to her, which she accepted, letting him pull her up. She sighed softly, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. He was certainly surprised at this unusual display of affection, but happily reciprocated the gesture nonetheless.

He pressed his forehead to hers. "If you'll have me–and I'm not even sure I would deserve that–I'll never leave you. "

"Stay with me?" She asked quietly, the words sticking in her throat for some odd reason.

"Forever." Finnick murmured, tilting her chin up. He smiled–a mix of happiness and worry and love–before giving her a soft, sweet kiss.

"Alright, lovebirds!" Johanna shouted.

He sighed against her lips, before she reluctantly pulled away. "Was she talking about us, or Peeta and Katniss?"

She shrugged. "Two birds, one stone. Probably both of us couples."

They were making good time to the lightning tree, with the District 4 pair in front, then Beetee, then Peeta with the wire and Katniss, and lastly, Johanna. Then the Panem anthem started playing. Everyone froze, slowly looking up at the sky.

Both from 1, Wiress, the girls from 5 and 6, Blight, and the man from 11 were dead. Reyna was too exhausted to think of most of their names, but their faces were all heart-wrenchingly familiar. The song and light faded, and they started walking again.

It was fairly close to midnight when they reached the tree, coming to a halt. "Minimal charring. It's an impressive conductor. Now let's get started." Beetee commented/ordered.

They started wrapping the wire around the base of the tree, many, many times. "Typically a lightning strike contains five billion joules of energy. We don't want to be anywhere in the vicinity when this hits." Beetee warned, his skilled fingers shaping the coil with ease.

He finished and handed the coil with the remaining wire to Reyna. "You three girls, go together now. Take this, and unspool it carefully. Make sure the entire coil is in the water, you understand? Once it's done, head to the tree in the 2:00 sector. We'll meet up there." Katniss looked hesitant at best, angry if we're being real.

Peeta interjected. "I should go with them."

"No. You need to be here to guard me. And the tree."

"No, I need to go with her."

"There are two careers out there, I need two guards."

"Finnick can protect you just fine on his own."

Katniss butted in. "Yeah, why can't Finnick, Johanna and Reyna stay with you, and Peeta and I'll take the coil?"

Beetee stepped closer, dead serious. "You agreed to keep me safe until midnight, correct?"

"It's his plan, we all agreed to it." Interjected Johanna.

Finnick finally spoke. "Is there a problem here?"

"An excellent question." Beetee said.

Katniss was boiling in anger, something Reyna could see from the hard set of her jaw, the steely gleam in her eyes, the way her fingernails dug into her palms viciously. It was something she saw for years after her family's death when she looked in the mirror. "No, there's no problem."

Reyna nodded to Beetee. She would come back to Finnick. But just in case...

Finnick's arms went around her just as quickly as she embraced him, and he didn't ever want to let her go. "Promise me–" He took a shaky breath before continuing. "Promise me that you'll be safe."

She let out a shuddering laugh. "We're in the Hunger Games, I'll never be safe here. But I will fight to come back to you, I promise."

He nodded, kissing her hair, her forehead, her nose, and finally, her lips. He needed to remember, just in case. She pulled something out of her hair–it had been braided in–and put it around his neck. The shell necklace.

"I love you, Finnick."

"I love you, too, Reyna." He gave her one last kiss.

Johanna shouted, "All right, let's go!" Then she slipped out of his arms, causing a sound of protest to rise in the back of his throat. Well, a mix of protest and the hesitance to let go of the one being in this world he held dear. A dark cloud of foreboding hovered over him as she disappeared into the undergrowth. He would see her at midnight. He would.

A/N: heyyyyyyyyyyy everybody! Now, before you prepare to kill me, I have an excuse. A poor excuse, but an excuse still. I discovered the awesomeness that is danisnotonfire. Well, that's my excuse for the last day or two. Writer's block, procrastination and school are the other reasons. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I made it a tad longer to compensate the delay. Also, feel free to discuss whether or not Reyna will be reunited with Finnick! ^^ don't be shy, we aren't strangers. Okay, we are, but we are united in fanfiction!

Also, don't forget to vote, comment, or share with your friends! And I've made a new Doctor Who fic, so check it out if you're interested!