After hearing the rule change that allows two tributes from the same district to win, Katniss rethinks Peeta's actions and concludes that he has been protecting her all along, not deceiving her. She decides that allying with him is now both emotionally necessary and strategically essential, since their "star-crossed lovers" image is clearly winning audience support. Expecting the remaining tributes to avoid attacking her in the tree at night, Katniss waits until morning and then deliberately lights a misleading fire before setting out to find Peeta.

Katniss reasons that Peeta must be hiding near water if he has survived this long, so she follows the stream away from the Careers' old camp. At first she finds only old bloodstains, but then a weak voice reveals that Peeta is almost directly under her feet, perfectly camouflaged in mud, plants, and rock. The disguise explains how he stayed alive, but it also hides how close he is to death. When Katniss pulls him free, she discovers he is too weak to move by himself.

Katniss begins cleaning Peeta in the stream and assesses his injuries. She removes the mud, cuts away his shirt, treats burns and tracker jacker stings with the leaves she knows help draw out infection, and gives him fever medicine. Peeta jokes with her and reminds her that they are supposed to be in love, but Katniss sees that his condition is serious when he cannot eat and his skin grows hotter with fever.

When Katniss finally examines Peeta's leg, she finds Cato's sword wound is badly infected, swollen, and full of pus. Although she is disgusted and unsure of her skills, she forces herself to act because no one else can help him. Using the leaves repeatedly, she draws out infection, then applies ointment and bandages the wound with the limited supplies she has. Realizing Peeta cannot stay exposed by the stream, she helps him move a short distance downstream and then half-carries him into a small cave, where she makes a bed of pine needles and tries to conceal the entrance.

As evening comes, Peeta tries to speak as if he may die, and Katniss silences him with a kiss. A sponsor parachute arrives immediately afterward, but instead of medicine it contains hot broth. Katniss understands Haymitch's message: if she wants more help to keep Peeta alive, she must give the audience a stronger romance story. Thinking of her parents' love, she returns to Peeta with new tenderness and begins consciously performing the role that may save him.