Heart of Gold • Finnick Odair

-54-

Finnick gently rubbed the medical cream onto Rosalie's back whilst they sat on their bed, Rose gritting her teeth in slight pain as Finnick rubbed in the cream as gently as possible.

"Okay, all done," he softly pulls her shirt back down over her back and places a kiss on her shoulder, wrapping his arms lightly against her stomach.

She sighs and leans back into his chest. In response, he rests his head atop hers and adjusts his position to make her more comfortable in his arms.

She pulls the cover up over the two of them as she cuddles into his side, his arm wrapping around her out of instinct as he brought her as close as humanly possible to his own body.

She fell asleep rather quickly but was almost immediately dragged into a nightmare.

Cold.
The room was blank and white, driving her further insane every extra minute she spent there. There was no heating and her clothes were partially tipped letting cold air seep through and hit her skin harshly.

Pain.
Her entire body ached. She could feel bruises forming on top of her already prominent bruises. Her body ached both from the inside and the outside. She could feel every injury that had been inflicted on her body, both the fresh ones and the ones that had been given to her on her first day of torture.

Broken.
Not only was her entire body in pain but she felt emotionally broken too, she was sick of being dragged from the cell to be used as an object by Snow's peacekeeper. Donovan Praule was cruel to her. He enjoyed to see her in pain. He longed to hear her beg for mercy when he pinned her arms roughly above her head but she never allowed him the pleasure of hearing her begs. She kept silent until she were alone in her cell again where Johanna would listen to her sobs.

As she dreams of the horrors she endured, she could almost hear his menacing voice and feel his rough and unforgiving touch.

She's never felt so afraid. There was no hope. She couldn't even tell herself that it'll be okay, that she'll get out eventually, because what if she doesn't? What if she spends the rest of her life here, locked up in a cell deep in the Capitol? Would they grant her the luxury of killing her quick or would they make her suffer a long and painful death? Most likely the latter.

She jolts awake to feel a soft hand lay across her stomach.

She flinched away from the touch and turns round to see a sleepy Finnick wiping his eyes as he wakes. She turns her head back round and rests it across her legs that she had now pulled up to her chest.

As soon as he sees Rosalie sat up in bed, any exhaustion he had felt was immediately wiped from his mind as he pulls himself up to a seated position and hesitantly reaches out a hand to her, not wanting to startle her.

"Rose, love, are you alright?" he speaks softly, effectively breaking her out of the trance she'd gotten lost in.

His heart broke when he saw her teary eyes. He could read the emotion in them and put the pieces together to figure out she'd had a nightmare. He immediately responded and took her into his arms.

She froze for a moment, her body stiff, until her brain comprehends the fact that she is safe and the man next to her is Finnick and not Donovan. That he has no intentions of inflicting any pain onto her and only wants to comfort her and bring her safety. She melted into his arms as her muscles relax and he rubs her arm with one hand as his other hand strokes her hair gently as he whispers in her ear soothingly. She allows herself to breath again as she listens to his more steady breathing. 

His arms were tight yet comfortable around her injured and delicate body. He was always careful not to harm her, even when she was at full health.

Rosalie eventually drifted off into sleep again in the arms of the man she loves. Finnick doesn't fall back asleep until he is sure that she is peacefully unconscious. And even then, he keeps his arms wrapped tightly around his fiancé. He vowed to himself long ago to protect her, and that vow was even stronger now that she lay vulnerably in his arms after enduring such trauma.

He kisses her head softly before closing his eyes, "I've got you, always."