Puzzle Pieces • Finnick Odair

C H A P T E R 4 6

Finnick found Katniss in a separate room playing with the pearl Peeta gave her. He sat across from her, tying knots with his rope.

No words were exchanged. Nothing either said could make anything better. So they just sat in each other's presence. They were the only ones who truly understood each other right now. Coming out of the Games to find the most important person in your life was in the place they most dreaded.

CAPITOL:

When Jessica woke, every part of her body hurt, every limb hurt, every fibre of her body ached for the sweet release of death but it never came.

She remembered that after the interview, she had been knocked out.

She had been woken by a burning sensation on the right side of her body. Her movement in her arms and legs had been restricted in the chair, the only thing she could move was her head. She had closed her eyes from the pain but forced them open to see the cause. She remembered seeing fog coming out of some holes in the wall. It kept coming out until her whole body was covered in boils, her surroundings filled with the fog. Some sort of fan blew air from the left wall and caused the fog to dissipate into thin air. Then, a shockingly cold sensation caused even more burning. Ice cold water was being poured from a large hole in the ceiling, right onto her burning body. The water splashed onto her skin, getting rid of the boils as misty water disappeared through the drains in the floor. She was in pure agony as the water removed the boils. She felt a split second of relief as the immense pain subsided from the affect of the water before she saw more fog coming from the right side wall. The action was repeated until she passed out.
Fog. Fan. Water. Repeat.

She shook her head at the memory, "darling?" She checked to see if Johanna was there.

"Thank god you're alive, sweetheart, you were out for at least a couple hours, maybe a day, I don't know anymore."

"Is Peeta here?" She passed, her voice croaky from suppressed screams.

"Yeah he's here." There's a silence. "I'm assuming he's still asleep," Johanna states the obvious.

Annie spoke worriedly, the words coming out as more of a whisper, "are you okay?"

"As good as I can be," she skilfully avoided the truth, "Ann?"

"Yes?"

"Did you get married?"

Jessica could practically hear the smile in her voice, "yeah, we did."

"Tell me about it," Jessica knew they could all use the distraction.

A couple of hours, or days, had passed. They had started to use tracker jacker venom on Peeta and when he'd return, he would be very 'out of it' so Jessica came up with an exercise that would help.

Peeta had must woken from a tracker jacker caused slumber and was in one of his states so, Jessica repeated the mantra that helped bring him back.

"Orange, bread, paint, pearl, bake, strong, kind, twelve."

AN: yes, I did get the idea of Peeta's words ( Orange, bread, paint, pearl, bake, strong, kind, twelve ) from the winter soldier (marvel).