The Life of A Victor || Finnick Odair

CHAPTER 56

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"I'm alive," Johanna heard Katniss whisper after hours of sleeping the sedative off. There was no one else in the room except her. It was late at night, and everyone had been forced back into their compartments. Everyone except Johanna, who knew the best hiding spots in all of Thirteen, and had practice sneaking into the hospital since Finnick was hospitalised so many weeks ago.

"No kidding, brainless," Johanna said, walking over to Katniss' bed. It was clear on Katniss' face that the dose of morphling wasn't enough to calm her pain, as she winced at the slight moment her body took when Johanna sat down on the bed. "Still a little sore?"

Katniss still didn't reply. Even after a bit of chatter from Johanna, talking about the morphlings from Six or even the head doctor that visited most victors frequently, she didn't say one word. "He's supposed to be helping us recover. Like some guy who's spent his life in this rabbit warren's going to fix us up. Complete idiot. At least twenty times a session he reminds everyone that they're totally safe."

Johanna's rant somehow received a smile from Katniss. "How about you, Mockingjay? You feel totally safe?" She asked, rubbing her arm over with the sleeve in a nervous motion, although her mocking smile was still on.

"Oh yeah. Right up until I got shot," Katniss finally replied.

"Please. That bullet never even touched you. Cinna and Ohan saw to that," Johanna replied, running her fingers through her short hair.

"Broken ribs?" Katniss questioned after a few seconds of silence.

"Not even. Bruised pretty good. The impact ruptured your spleen. They couldn't repair it," she explained, giving the teenager a dismissive wave with her hand. "Don't worry, you don't need one. And if you did, they'd find you one, wouldn't they? It's everybody's job to keep you alive."

"Is that why you can't stand me sometimes?" Katniss asked, her gaze fixated on her fellow victor and roommate.

"Partly," Johanna admitted. "Jealousy is certainly involved. I also think you're a little hard to swallow. With your tacky romantic drama and your defender-of-the-helpless act. Only it isn't an act which makes you more unbearable. Please feel free to take this personally."

"You should have been the Mockingjay. No one would've had to feed you lines," Katniss pointed out.

"True. But no one likes me," Johanna nodded, letting her hands rest on her lap as she glanced around the room.

"They trusted you, though. To get me out," Katniss reminded her. "And they're afraid of you."

"Here, maybe. In the Capitol, you're the one they're scared of now." Gale suddenly appeared in the doorway, letting Johanna know that her turn to watch over Katniss was over. "Your cousin's not afraid of me. Are you, gorgeous?" Johanna walked to his side, nudging his leg with her hip as she talked. She didn't wait for a reply and laughed loudly as she returned to her compartment.

For the next few days, everyone who was free would make Katniss company. Her doctor, for some reason, wanted her up and moving, although she was still in pain. Because of the endless rumours of the Mockingjay dying, a team ended up filming Katniss in her hospital bed when Theo and Rhett were with her.

As part of her rehabilitation, Katniss was allowed above ground to take short walks, and she managed to convince her doctors to let her take a person with her every day to make her company.

"Plutarch told me," Katniss said during one of her walks above ground. That day she was with Finnick, who accompanied her while Dove had her check-up with the head doctor. "You and Dove are getting married, right? Congratulations."