Everlasting

Chapter 33

Peeta P.O.V.

"Peeta!" Katniss cries as she reaches out and grabs my hand.

"It's okay," I tell her softly. "The nurses have to take you into that room for x-rays, but I can't go in there. I'll go to the waiting room until they're done."

"No," Katniss says as she slowly shakes her head. She hasn't let me leave her side the entire time we've been here at the hospital. Even when she was getting stitches in her head, she wouldn't let go of my hand. Not that I wanted her to anyways. But now she has to let go of me long enough for them to make sure nothing's broken. The nurses try to wheel Katniss away, but she grips my hand even tighter.

"Katniss, listen. I'll wait right here by the door, okay?"

Katniss nods, and I kiss her forehead before she's wheeled away from me. Once the door is shut, I take a deep breath and lean my back against it.

My heart hasn't stopped racing since I found Katniss. I'm so glad I found her when I did, but I'm still worried about something being wrong.

After a while, they bring Katniss back out and get her set up in a room. The nurses leave, saying that the doctor will be in here shortly. I go to stand beside Katniss's bed, and she reaches over to grab my hand.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her. Katniss lifts her hand up off the mattress and makes a so-so gesture. "Are you still having trouble breathing?" Katniss nods her head, and I frown at her. "I'll tell the doctor when he gets in here. Is anything else bothering you?"

"It hurts," Katniss chokes out.

"I know, baby. I'll make sure they give you something once the doctor gets in here," I tell her.

When the doctor finally steps into the room, Katniss is in so much pan that the tears won't stop flowng down her face.

The doctor immediately starts pain medication going through Katniss's I.V. before saying anything.

"She said she can't breathe well," I say. The doctor nods his head.

"I'm sure it's nothing an oxygen mask can't fix," he says before turning to face Katniss. "Your x-rays don't show any broken bones, but you do have a concussion, so no sleeping for a while." Katniss sighs and rolls her eyes before the doctor continues. "We'll run a few more tests to make sure there's nothing going on with your lungs, but I'm sure your difficulty breathing is from the impact of the fall. We'll keep you overnight and go from there, depending on how you feel in the morning."

Katniss nods her head, and the doctor leaves the room. I look down at Katniss, and she smiles up at me.

"Are you feeling better now?" I ask her. 

Katniss nods her head again. "It doesn't hurt as bad."

"Good," I say as I kiss her forehead. "Gosh. I'm so glad you're okay." Katniss wraps her arms slowly around my neck, and I hold her close to me, wishing that we could stay like this forever.
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I look over at Katniss and frown when I see her fidgeting with the oxygen mask around her face. The doctor said that Katniss's lungs look perfectly healthy, so he told her to keep the mask on for a couple hours to see if that helps. I can tell Katniss wants nothing more than to get it off, but she still has about thirty minutes to go.

Katniss's eyes start to droop, so I nudge her arm a little.

"Don't go to sleep," I tell her. She looks over at me and scowls. "I'm sorry, honey, but it's doctor's orders."

Katniss gives me a pleading look, and I know what she's thinking. She wants out of here. She wants to go home to the kids and go to sleep.

"I know it's frustrating, Katniss," I tell her softly. "But it's what you have to do to get better." Katniss slowly nods her head and leans her head back on the pillow.

When a nurse comes in to take the oxygen mask off Katniss, relief floods her face. Once the nurse leaves the room, Katniss looks up at me and gives me a small smile.

"Did that help?" I ask her anxiously.

"I think so," Katniss replies. I nod my head.

"You sound like you're talking easier," I tell her. "Are you hurting anywhere now?"

"No," Katniss says as she shakes her head. "I think that medicine took care of it. I am a little cold, though." I reach down at the foot of the bed and pull the blanket up to cover Katniss. She looks at me and smiles gratefully. "Thank you."

I lean over and kiss her cheek. "Anything for you, Kat."

She looks up at me and swallows hard. "I'm sorry," she says. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Shh. Katniss…"

"No," she says as she shakes her head. "I did the wrong thing by running away, and now I'm being punished for it."

"Katniss, stop," I say softly. "You're not being punished for anything. You got upset. Every one does that from time to time."

"That doesn't mean that I should have done that."

"No, it doesn't," I tell her truthfully. "But I think we're all entitled to an irrational moment every now and then."

Katniss takes a deep breath. "I'll have to apologize to Willow."

"Honey, I don't think Willow's going to be worried about an apology," I tell her. "All Willow wants is for you to be okay. She was so worried about you. Actually, I'm sure she's still worried about you."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Katniss asks me. "Because I have to say, it's not working."

"Sorry," I say as I give her a sad smile.

"Peeta?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

I laugh a little. "For what?" I ask Katniss. "What did I do?"

She gives me a look. "Um. You sorta just saved my life."

"No," I say as I shake my head. "I just did what I had to do to take care of you."

"Peeta, if you hadn't showed up when you did," I would have laid there for who knows how long."

I shake my head. "I should've come to look for you eariler. Willow wanted me to, but I knew you wanted to be alone for a while. If I had known that…"

"Stop," Katniss tells me. "It's all my fault, so don't even try feeling guilty about it." I take a deep breath and look away. "You had to stay back to take care of the kids. I understand that. Please don't beat yourself up about it by thinking that you did anything wrong. I'm not mad at you."

I look back over at her to see a questioning look on her face.

"I'm not mad at you either, baby," I tell her truthfully. Katniss gives me a sad look.

"But you're disappointed in me."

"No," I say as I shake my head. "I told you. I understand that you needed your space."

Katniss sighs and leans her head back against her pillow.

"I feel like this conversation is going nowhere," Katniss says. I laugh a little and nod my head.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm not disappointed in you," I tell her truthfully. "I'm just so happy that you're okay."