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KILL FOR YOUR LOVE.

act three.

(chapter seventy-five, you seem to follow me in my dreams)

juniper and johanna's compartment / hospital ward, 75 ADD.

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JOHANNA MASON HAD NOT been discharged yet and so, it left Juniper to be alone in the compartment, one bed empty whilst she sat up in her own, picking at the skin surrounding her thumbs as she stared into the darkness. The bad feeling did not dwindle. Instead, it was more heavier and painful.

She did not like being left in the dark. She did not like it when people lied to her. Why was Finnick not telling the truth? And why wasn't Katniss? Juniper had thought that she and the man from Four would tell each other everything, that they could speak to the other without any fear of being judged or not taken seriously. 

("Have you kept something from him?" Johanna murmured and when Juniper didn't answer, she sighed as she added, "Exactly. Don't get worked up about it. I know Finnick and you do too... he'll be fine.")

But what Johanna had told her was true. It was only fair for Finnick to keep something from Juniper considering there was much she hadn't told him about. And there would have been a good reason for the man to not tell her anything about the Capitol. Perhaps he was sparing her, keeping her fragile head in mind when he left. There had to be a good reason for Finnick to be keeping something from her. 

And so, Juniper tried to swallow any thought of Finnick Odair down as she began to become focused on Coin. Why was she lying? The Hale woman gathered it was part of her job to keep certain things a secret, but why was she lying about her true intentions? Juniper knew she was lying. Dr. Aurelius hinted that she was. And so, why did she want Juniper to start seeing Peeta? And what did Peeta want to say to her?

("Yes." Aurelius nodded. "Obsessed is the wrong word and so is infatuation. Whatever it is, he can't get you out of his head. It's like he needs to speak to you or tell you something.")

Questions began to run wild in Juniper's head, even as she tried to lay down to sleep. Throughout the night, they sprinted throughout her mind like it was a racetrack, one question leaping to be the winner and be answered. But Juniper was sure none of them would be, especially in the morning when all of them suddenly disappeared, numbness filling her up. 

The squad Finnick and Katniss were part of had been gone for a week and a bit by then. They had to be in the Capitol. They were set off into Twelve and after a couple of days' travelling, they disembarked inside one of the mountain tunnels that led into the Capitol. That was all Juniper had heard from Plutarch and that was all she was going to get considering they wanted her to be focused purely on Peeta, who she would be seeing first thing in the morning. 

And so, her guard up, Juniper made her way out of her compartment, swimming through the crowd of grey as everyone went to get their schedules tattooed on their arms. The Hale woman could feel her heart pounding as she followed the signs to the hospital ward, her head spinning as she tried to swallow the lump down from her throat.

When she entered the brightly lit reception that was packed with nurses and doctors, she saw Johanna's face come up on one of the screens, portraying the room number she was in. Juniper was tempted to quickly visit her, but before she could even turn into a different hall, Plutarch Heavensbee was right by her side. 

"Juniper!" Plutarch called out as he quickly grasped her bicep lightly, restraining her from going down to Johanna. "Good. You're here. To be honest, I didn't actually think you were going to come." 

"I said I would help, didn't I?" 

"Of course, of course." Heavensbee waved his hand in the air as if he was wafting away a cloud of smoke. "But I didn't think you would actually do it. I am certain you can get through to Peeta. You're like the big, trendy thing for him." 

Juniper clenched her jaw as she felt the paunchy man drag her through the reception area, taking her through a hallway that slowly started to become less populated the further they went down. Just as they began to round a corner, Dr. Aurelius and a little girl Juniper had seen before greeted them.

The man looked completely exhausted, more tired than the last time the Hale woman saw him a few days ago. He wore his lab coat with his ID card attached to his breast pocket. He was clean shaven now and his wrinkles were more on view than ever. He did not hold a clipboard or pen. 

And then the girl. She had a small stature and looked to have a history of being underfed. But her face was as fresh as a raindrop with her fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. Juniper had definitely seen her before at Finnick and Annie's wedding, dancing with Katniss. This was her sister. 

"Ah, Miss Hale." Aurelius tried to smile as Juniper and Plutarch walked up to them. Peeta's hospital room door was behind them. "You're here." 

"I said I would be." Juniper sighed. She seemed to eye Katniss's sister.

"Of course..." Aurelius's brows pinched together before relaxing himself. "I think introductions should be in order. Miss Hale, this is—" 

"Primrose Everdeen." The girl stood before her, hand extended out towards the Victor. "But you can just call me Prim." 

"Right," Juniper drawled as she lightly shook the girl's palm. "Katniss's sister." 

"Prim is the one that came up with the counterattack," Dr. Aurelius informed the Hale woman. "To hijack him back, that is."

"Right," Juniper repeated. 

"Well, shall we?" Plutarch suggested as he gestured to the door. 

And so, the four of them began to walk into the hospital room. Juniper had been there before and it was more like an observation area with a work space littered with notes and cups of coffee. And, of course, the one-way glass was still there with an audio setup. Doctors and professionals were packed in the room and it was a tight squeeze for Juniper to get to the front. 

And then she saw him. 

Peeta Mellark was still lying down on the bed, arms strapped down, but his eyes were clear of the fear and confusion Juniper had seen last time she was in the observation room. His expression wasn't lucid. He had gained more weight, bruises healing as well as the open wounds. But tremors rippled through his body and he looked to be annoyed, to be filled with anger just like he was in the dining hall. 

Juniper turned to the side to see Lucy Stevens and Haymitch Abernathy standing off to the side. When the two noticed the Victor from the Seventy-Second had entered the observatory, they began to walk over to her. Lucy seemed more tired than anything and so did Haymitch. War didn't look good on them. 

"He's better," the man from Twelve commented as they stood in-front of the glass. "Well... from what he was before." 

"It sounds like you don't have much hope."

"We don't know why Coin has sent you here, Juniper," Lucy said in a hushed voice. She peered at Plutarch. "But it's stupid. It would just bring up bad memories, seeing you." 

"Perhaps," Katniss's sister, Prim, said as she went beside the three Victors'. "But at least it's someone who the Capitol hasn't tainted and who he doesn't have a personal vendetta for." 

"What do you mean?" Juniper asked.

"Peeta has a personal anger for Haymitch. The Capitol has twisted his views of Katniss," Prim explained. "But for you, Juniper, he has neither of that. Yes, he will be reminded of his captivity, but he knows he didn't go through it alone. That you were there, too. It would have built some trust between you two and maybe he will open up... that's my theory anyway." 

"And it's a good one," Plutarch said as he joined the group. The doctors and professionals surrounding them backed off to their working stations. "Are you ready?" 

"Sure..." Juniper sighed. "What do you want me to say to him?" 

"Just let him see you. See what his reaction is and take it from there," Plutarch said. 

"And is there anything I shouldn't say?" 

"Don't mention—" 

"No, there isn't anything you shouldn't say," Prim quickly interrupted Plutarch. "Speak what's on your mind. Answer his questions. He knows you're not one to hold back and so if you do, he'll know that something is up. Do what you want to do in there."

Juniper stared at Katniss's sister for a moment before nodding, looking at the other three before heading towards the door that led into the white room where Peeta was laying in. She inhaled a deep breath before opening the door and when she entered the room, the icy blue eyes of the human in-front of her latched onto her soul. 

"Juniper." 

"Hello, Peeta," the woman greeted as she began to walk further into the room. She wasn't scared to see the boy, but there was a certain caution that enveloped her being. "You look well." 

"You don't." Peeta scoffed. "Hair is longer, though..." 

Juniper felt her mouth become partly dry as she stopped to stand a good distance from the bed. She could feel the boy's eyes staring at her intensely as his brows furrowed. A war was still raging in his head, though fainted. The darkness still surrounded him. 

"You don't want to be here, do you?" Peeta asked. 

"I was asked," Juniper told him. "Apparently, you've been asking for me." 

There was a pause. 

"I remember..." Peeta mumbled. "I remember you... in the Capitol" 

"So?" Juniper pressed. She took a step forward. Her heart was racing. 

Peeta seemed to have trouble finding his next words as he said, in a shaky and uncertain voice, "I remember... the cells... you were trying to talk to me... you said you were sorry." 

The Hale woman blinked once, and then twice, and then three times before slowly nodding, replying, "I did... I am..." 

"Why?" Peeta hissed. "You're not one to give sympathies... Why were you sorry? You don't give apologies to anyone else. You certainly didn't say them to Johanna." 

"It's not something I want to share with the others... why I was sorry." Juniper looked over at her shoulder to stare at the blacked-out window. "That's for me to know and no-one else." 

"Hm..." Peeta nodded his head. He knew people were watching, listening to their conversation. He wasn't stupid and neither was Juniper. She wasn't going to spill her regrets and guilt. "You know... I remember a lot about what happened in the Capitol, despite what everyone thinks—" 

"The doctor here said you wanted to say something to me?" Juniper was quick to interrupt him. "So, what is it?" 

Peeta blinked. His hands spasmed. His jaw clenched. He was completely silent for a few minutes until he whispered, "I remember a lot... but not just what happened in the Capitol... but what happened in the Quell..." 

"So?" Juniper asked. 

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." 

The Hale woman froze. 

Her entire being was shutting down as she stared into the cold, dangerous blue eyes of Peeta Mellark. Her heart had stopped beating. Her blood had stopped circling around her body. Her brain was causing every minor organ to stop doing its job. Juniper was sure she could feel herself go faint.

("Yes..." Juniper nodded slowly. Both her and Peeta were staring at Cashmere Nicholo, sitting beside each other on the ledge. "We repeat it until we're sure the spirit has moved on...")

(And so, Juniper Hale and Peeta Mellark murmured the prayer repeatedly as they sat together on the small island's ledge, feet dipped into the waves as they watched Cashmere Nicholo's body float from them until it was a good distance away)

"What?" Juniper asked, voice shaking and croaking as she did. 

"We said that... together..." Peeta told her as if she didn't know already. "When the woman from Two died—" 

"One," Juniper was quick to say. "She was from One. Not Two." 

Peeta faltered slightly before nodding, "When the woman from One died... you were close to her, weren't you?" 

Juniper tried to unclench her jaw as she stated, "Somewhat... why did you bring that up?" 

"Because I remember it clearly. More clearer than other memories," Peeta told the Victor from Ten. "I don't know why. I remember you clearly... I think that was an important moment, when the woman from One died. I think that was when I truly began to understand you." 

"Understand me?" 

"Yes." Peeta nodded again. "But I don't know what I understood about you. That parts hazy. But I just remember you. You seem to follow me in my dreams." 

Juniper blinked once, twice, a third time, a fourth time, and a fifth time. Her head turned slowly over her shoulder to look at the blacked-out glass. You seem to follow me in my dreams. She could feel herself swaying. 

"I follow you in your dreams?" Juniper asked. 

"Yes," Peeta said like it was part of normality. "I remember you more than I can remember anyone else. I remember watching your Games. I remember you in the Quell. I remember you in the Capitol. They didn't touch any memories of you..." 

"I wonder why." Juniper scoffed. "We never got along... that was my doing, anyway." 

"I know," he replied. He didn't push to ask why. "But it's comforting to know that there was at least one real person in the Quell and the Capitol. You're about as real as they get, Juniper Hale." 

Peeta Mellark couldn't have been much more wrong, but the woman didn't question it as a buzzer went off and the door back to the observatory opened. The icy, blue eyes wandered over to the opening as well as the Victor who remained standing in-front of him. But with a sigh, they flickered away to a corner of the room. Juniper clenched her jaw before slowly retreating away, organs and body starting to function again. 

When she entered back into the room she was in prior, she let out a deep breath before looking to see Dr. Aurelius, Plutarch, Prim, Lucy, and Haymitch all huddled together, eyes on Juniper. The Hale woman licked her lips before joining them. 

"That was... good." Plutarch nodded. "He trusts you. He remembers you. Prim's theory was correct."

"Obviously." Juniper rolled her eyes as she shimmied in the grey jumpsuit that seemed to itch her skin more than ever. 

"And there was no intense reaction," Dr. Aurelius commented. "That's good. He didn't say anything... harsh." 

"He seemed to latch onto the memory of you and him after Cashmere died," Haymitch added. Juniper turned to look at him with furrowed brows. "You got any reasoning behind that?" 

"Me? No." Juniper shook her head. "But did you hear him? He said it was the moment he understood me, but he said he didn't remember what he understood about me." 

"His memory is foggy," Prim said. "The fight with Delly seemed to have caused it, I think." 

"I thought his memory was always like that?" Lucy asked. 

"It was." Prim nodded. "But not that bad. Now, he's forgotten what district that woman was from. He's forgotten what he's understood about Juniper." 

"Will it ever come back fully?" Haymitch questioned. 

One look from Prim answered his query. 

The Hale woman ran a hand through her ragged hair before sighing, making her way through the crowded observatory. She could sense three life forms following her, but she didn't look over her shoulder to see who until she was out in the corridor. They were Dr. Aurelius, Prim, and Plutarch. 

"Thank you for doing that, Juniper," the Heavensbee man told her. "Same time tomorrow?" 

"If that's what you want." Juniper nodded.

"Yes, it is," Plutarch said. "This is going to be good for him. Now, I want you to talk to Aurelius whilst I get back to Coin and your father. They're waiting to hear results in Command." 

With that, the paunchy man left hurriedly with a pep in his step, a grin on his face that was too wide for a war. But Juniper watched as he left before turning to Aurelius and Prim. The middle-aged man looked rather uncomfortable whilst the little girl, thirteen at least, was still peering up at her. 

"It's an honour meeting you, Juniper," Prim told her. "Katniss told me a lot about you." 

"I'm sure she did..." Juniper tried to smile, but couldn't seem to. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Prim." 

With that, the girl went back into the observatory room where Haymitch and Lucy still were, leaving it to be just Aurelius and Juniper. She noticed the man's fingers were twitching and his expression was morphed into that of awkwardness. 

"What?" 

Aurelius snapped his head up and raised a brow as he hummed. "Hm?" 

"What is it?" Juniper repeated. "What's wrong?" 

"I can never get anything past you..." Aurelius grumbled under his breath. "I'm meant to ask you something... well, not something. A series of questions."

"Like what?"

"Mr. Mellark's time in the Capitol." 

Juniper stared at the doctor before quickly scoffing, turning on her heel and walking away. "Don't be stupid, Aurelius." 

"Coin asked me to," he called out. "She wants to know what Mr. Mellark's time was like in the Capitol." 

The Hale woman, determined on turning the corner, slowly stopped as she swivelled around, asking, "Why? Did she say why?" 

"No." Aurelius shook his head. "Of course she didn't. But she told me to ask you about what happened to Mr. Mellark in the Capitol. What his conditions were like... she asked me to ask you. She said it was part of your task, but I don't see how..." 

"She asked you to ask me about Peeta's time in the Capitol?" 

"Yes." 

"Why?" 

"I just said I don't know why." 

Juniper felt her face morph into one of confusion and distrust as she began to walk away, the doctor quickly following after her. She wasn't going to tell anybody about Peeta's time in the Capitol, or Johanna's, or Annie's. That was their stories to tell, not her own. She didn't have the right to tell anyone what happened in the Capitol, especially not Peeta's. And why would Coin want to know? 

("Nah," she said. "Heard stuff, though... she's more invested in Peeta than any of us Victors'. I'm surprised she even allowed a wedding for Annie.")

Juniper tried to shake Johanna's voice out of her head as she asked Aurelius, "What did Coin want to know?" 

"The conditions Mr. Mellark was put under," he explained as he walked beside her. "What happened to him during his captivity. Anything that could... cause flashbacks to arise." 

"And why does she want to know?" 

"I told you. I don't know." 

Juniper scoffed as she said, "I don't trust her." 

"I know you don't." 

"I'm not telling you what happened to Peeta," she told the man. "That's not my story to tell. That's his. And I would be pretty pissed if him, or Johanna, or even Annie told my experience to anyone else. I'm not spilling." 

"I didn't expect you to." Aurelius rolled his eyes. "But, Miss Hale?" 

"What?" Juniper turned to her side to face the head doctor. 

"You should know that... Coin doesn't trust you. She doesn't like you," he said. "I don't know why she asked you to try help Mr. Mellark when it is obvious that is not her true intention. I don't know why she's asking for more information about his captivity. But I know she is getting touchy about you." 

"Why?" 

"Because you are you, Miss Juniper Hale. Your stubborn self. That is enough to spook anyone. I would be careful if I were you."