Cato woke up several days later, in a sitting position on the forest floor with his back leaning against a tree, feeling disconcerted and confused. "Where am I?" he asked the air. He saw someone sitting next to him, but couldn't make out who it was with the person's back turned to him until he saw that braid. He narrowed his eyes. "Katniss" he hissed and tried to lunge at her but was only greeted with immense pain. What had happened to him?

He vaguely remembered the attack, and seeing the beast hit with an arrow, and then a figure approaching him…and now all he felt was pain.

"Feeling any better?" he heard Katniss ask.

"No I am not"' he growled. "What did you do to me?"

She didn't seem fazed by his glare as she answered "Well for starters, I saved your life. And you got hurt pretty bad so I wouldn't try to move anytime soon if I were you. But you'll be alright in a few days. You got some medicine from your sponsors too, that was a big help". Medicine? Yeah she was probably hiding it from him, keeping it to herself, that little…

"What did you do with my medicine?" he demanded.

She raised her eyebrows. "Relax; I've applied it on your wounds several times already. We're running low but you're getting better so that's good." She pointed to the marks on his arm and chest that were already fading.

"Then why do I feel like I'm being ripped open with a knife" he accused, gritting his teeth angrily.

She shrugged "Like I said, you were hurt pretty bad. In fact, if I wasn't there to save you-"

"I didn't need saving"

She threw her head back and laughed. "Are you always like this?"

He glared at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about, fire girl"

"Nice nickname, hothead" she fired back. She met his eyes and they both glared at each other. "You know a thank you would be nice" she added.

He widened his eyes "A thank you? For what? You probably saved me only so you can kill me!"

She shook her head sadly. "I'm not like that you know"

"Yeah well, whatever. This doesn't change anything. As soon as I heal you're dead".

Cato could not believe how angry he was. He didn't even know why he was angry. Was it because she had saved his life? He still didn't trust that she wouldn't try to kill him at some point, and was under constant guard. It wasn't like he could do much though, in his present state, and that only angered him even more. Stupid Katniss. Wait till I get my hands on her.

He spent the rest of the day giving her the silent treatment, even when she asked him if he was hungry or thirsty. She ended up leaving water and food next to him though, and he grabbed them when he thought she wasn't looking. He could move him arms without really feeling much pain, but it was his chest that really hurt. He found that he could slide down a little to get into a relaxed position on the forest floor, although being on top of pointy sticks and tiny annoying rocks wasn't too comfortable.

Katniss kept watch the whole day, with her bow and arrows by her side at all times. She only left him twice, once to get water from a nearby creek and another to hunt for food. He thought she was abandoning him each time and found himself anxiously waiting for her return, but he told himself it was because for now, she was his only source of protection, although he still didn't like the idea of needing to be protected.

In truth he was a bit embarrassed about the situation. He hadn't been in this position, of being so dependent on someone else, since he was an infant, and he did not like it at all, especially since this someone was Katniss. He couldn't understand why she was helping him, she was the enemy! Katniss couldn't understand it either. She had been lying comfortably on a thick branch up a tree when she heard the commotion down below. If it had been anyone else from the Careers she would have happily let them die, but it had to be Cato. Before she knew it she had untied herself from the branch and grabbing her bow and arrow aimed for the creature's throat. There had been only one thought going on in her mind: Save Cato and damn the consequences.

She couldn't just let him die, she understood her actions that much, but she couldn't understand why she didn't just leave him where he was. Why did she have to act all heroic and take care of him afterwards? It had been hell trying to carry a heavy, unconscious Cato blinded by darkness to try to find a safe place to set him down, away from other beasts and tributes alike. It had been hell to stay up all night making sure he was okay and keeping watch for any other signs of life around them. When she received the medicine for him she had been overcome with joy. As long as he would be okay, she would be fine.

That scared her. The fact that even now, as he stubbornly ignored her and refused to thank her for saving his life, when she could leave him on his own, she found that she didn't want to. She stayed with him for most of the day and even gave him food and water. She amused herself watching him steal bits of food and gulps of water when he thought she wasn't looking, but of course she always was.

Whenever she had her doubts about staying, whenever she tried to make herself leave, she would look at him and see him in such pain and her heart just about broke. She could never leave him like this, and that's why, even now, even with Cato being as difficult as he could possibly be, she stayed with him.

That night proved to be a cold one. Cato was huddled by the tree, slightly shivering because he had left his jacket with the Careers, and not daring to ask Katniss for hers. Why did it have to be so cold? He wished they could light a fire. Then, not only would he be much warmer, but the Careers would see the smoke and be able to find him, and he would be rid of Katniss. There was no fire however: Katniss did not dare to make one for fear of attracting unwanted attention, so he was left shivering in the cold.

At one point during the night he felt a body curl up next to him. His eyes flew open and his whole body tensed. It was…Katniss? She was curled up next to him, their bodies so close together. He felt much warmer with their combined body heat that he lost all sense of wanting to push her away. Grunting with the effort, he moved slightly so that he could put an arm around her. He heard her breathing softly, and on an impulse he moved his head closer to hers. She seemed…so peaceful, like this. He no longer worried about fires or the cold and closed his eyes succumbing to sleep.

The next morning Cato woke to find no one next to him. He was surprised, and slightly hurt. When had she left him? How long had he been sleeping by himself? His mood quickly turned sour and he couldn't help but frown. How could he have thought that she would have even wanted to sleep in his arms? Maybe she had just rolled over at some point during the night and ended up next to him on accident. Why did he even put his arm around her? He closed his eyes and groaned in frustration.

"You okay?" he heard a familiar voice ask. He opened one eye and saw Katniss standing above him, so he opened the other eye.

"Where were you?" he asked her angrily, ignoring her question.

She stared at him with an inscrutable expression before replying nonchalantly "Getting us breakfast".

His frown immediately dissipated and his stomach growled in ravenous anticipation. He saw her holding two small, dead animals by their tails. "You seem like a good hunter" he commented.

She smiled as she set the animals on sticks over a small, smoldering fire. 'What makes you say that?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. It's just that, well…" he motioned towards the dead animals.

She let out a small chuckle. "I always hunted back in my District."

"Hmm, well I've always trained back in mine." Cato responded.

"Always?" Katniss asked.

"Since I was young. I had to make my parents proud, to be the best." Cato didn't even know why he was telling her this.

"And did you?" Katniss prodded.

"Did I…?"

"Did you make them proud?" She asked with her back to him.

He hesitated. Had he made them proud? "I-I think so. My dad was a hard man to please though". He laughed inwardly imagining his father watching and listening to them now.

"Oh". Katniss replied, and brought the smoldering animal over to him. "Eat" she added, before sitting down next to him with hers.

He took a bite. "Hmm, not bad" he gave her a small smile. She smiled back and bit into hers, closing her eyes happily as the warm meat reached her lips.

Cato watched her eat for a moment before asking her "What about your dad?" She kept her eyes closed, not daring to look at him.

"He's dead". Well there was nothing Cato could think of to say to that, except for a hasty "I'm sorry".

Katniss sighed. "No need. It happened a while ago."

"Oh. Thanks" was all Cato could think to say.

Katniss glanced at him in surprise. "For what?"

He shrugged uncomfortably. "For telling me. For the food. For…for saving me."

She met his eyes and nodded her head slowly. They didn't look away for a long time.

They finished the rest of the meal in silence, but it was not an uncomfortable one. After breakfast, Katniss knelt in front of him, looking at the rest of his wounds. "Ready for more medicine?" she asked him.

He grimaced. Right, he was still injured. "Yeah I guess" he mumbled. Katniss gave him a small encouraging smile. "Don't worry, you'll be better before you know it. In fact you'll probably be able to walk on your own by tomorrow".

He nodded his head. He was feeling a lot better. He couldn't wait to be able to move on his own. But his heart sunk with the realization of what would probably happen tomorrow. Would they part and go their separate ways? He found himself not wanting to leave her, but he had to face the facts. She was his enemy. One way or another at least one of them would have to die. He couldn't let whatever feelings he had get in the way. He was surprised how far he let himself slide, he should've stopped himself the second he started forming an attachment to her. Well it was too late now…he sighed, dreading what was to come tomorrow, dreading the inevitable, and hating himself for dreading it.