For a moment, Peeta was dumbstruck. He'd been here for months, yearning for her to arrive; dreaming of her. She'd not left his mind for a moment - he knew that she never would, no matter what happened. He had never lost hope - it wasn't his way - but every day, it seemed to him that she had moved further and further away from him.
He had learned to live here, to survive without her, but life without Katniss could never be anything but survival. He had told her that numerous times in different ways, but he still wondered if she realized how true it was.
Finding control of himself, he quickly crossed the room, his limp apparent, but not slowing him as he reached her and embraced her tightly.
"I missed you," he whispered, his voice breaking with the intensity of his feeling. "I missed you so much."