When Katniss wakes up, she has been asleep for some time. Fortunately, the medicine that she fought so hard to get for Peeta has worked. He is feeling better and is now taking care of Katniss. Katniss’s head is still sore, and she is forced to spend most of the day recovering. It seems that there is a storm outside the little cave in which they are hiding.

Katniss tells Peeta what happened at the Cornucopia and how Thresh let her go. Peeta confirms that Clove has been killed, but Cato and Thresh did not kill each other. The fox-faced girl also still lives. Peeta does not understand why Thresh would let Katniss go. Katniss explains that for people who are poor in the way she and Thresh are, it is difficult to pay back the gifts you have been given. As an example, Katniss explains that it has always been difficult for her to pay back the bread Peeta threw to her when they were young. Before long, Katniss is asleep again.

When she wakes up next, they are nearly out of food. Katniss knows that Haymitch will be able to get them food. Before, a kiss equaled a pot of broth. What would a meal cost? Katniss begins to orchestrate conversations that allow her and Peeta to kiss or to express their feelings for each other. Before long, she finds herself enjoying her kisses with Peeta. In fact, she notices that “this is the first kiss that makes me want another.” However, this is not enough to secure them food.

When asked why he has always had a crush on her, Peeta explains that on their first day of school his father told him that he had wanted to marry Katniss’s mother. However, Katniss’s mother married a coal miner who could sing so well that the birds would stop to listen. On that day, Katniss sang for the class, and Peeta says he fell for her in the same way her mother fell for her father. Katniss finds herself enjoying the story more than she would have expected. The sponsors must have enjoyed watching the story as well because Haymitch sends them a basket filled with food, including lamb stew, Katniss’s favorite food from the Capitol. Katniss reflects that this basket comes with a message from Haymitch explaining exactly what their romance is worth in terms of survival.